• Published 7th Mar 2016
  • 3,005 Views, 83 Comments

New Family - awesomesauce4



We've all played games. But what happens after the game ends?

  • ...
17
 83
 3,005

Chapter 7

Jeremy woke up, surprised that he had even fallen asleep. Nobody else was in the room, and a blanket had been placed over him. Shifting and turning over, he found that Chrysalis had also been replaced by a real pillow, which was significantly less comfortable. Groaning as he got up, he made his way deeper into the castle, in search of the others.

A few flights of stairs later, and he was back at the corridor where both his and Celestia’s rooms were. But which one was his? They all looked the same… Jeremy decided to try a door he thought might be his own. He opened it and walked inside, wondering why the light was off. To his surprise, Nightmare Moon was waiting at the window, looking up at the night sky.

“Nightmare Moon?” Jeremy asked quietly.

She jumped, knocking over a nearby desk drawer as she whirled around to look at him. “O-oh! Prithee, we didst not discern thy entrance,” she stammered.

“Sorry. Uh… where are the others?” he asked.

“They are down in the feasting hall, enjoying their supper,” Nightmare Moon answered.

Jeremy raised an eyebrow. “Why aren’t you down there as well?” he asked curiously.

Nightmare Moon looked at the floor, ears splaying back. “We art made of magic, not flesh and blood. We doth not require physical sustenance, and… we felt our presence was not welcome.”

Jeremy grimaced. “Luna, right?” he guessed. Nightmare Moon sadly nodded, and Jeremy sighed. “There has to be some way to… well…” he trailed off.

“To fix us,” Nightmare Moon softly completed. Jeremy flinched – he wouldn’t have said that… out loud, at least. “There is no need for evasion on that topic. We art well aware that we are… unnatural,” Nightmare Moon muttered.

“You are not!” Jeremy insisted. “You’re not some soulless monster. You have as much right to exist and enjoy yourself as Luna and everyone else here does.”

Nightmare Moon smiled sadly, returning her gaze to the stars. “Look out this window,” she commanded. Jeremy did so, wondering where she was going with this. “Luna hath outdone herself tonight,” Nightmare Moon commented, and Jeremy privately agreed. The stars shone against the inky blue-black of the night sky, pink and yellow galaxies and cyan nebulae shifting and undulating as the moon cast its pearlescent white glow across the land.

“This is all her work. She hath done the very thing we wanted to do – she hath made her night equal in splendor to the day. And all… without me,” Nightmare Moon commented. “There is no place for one such as us in this world, Jeremy. We… I was a foal to even think it possible,” she lamented. Jeremy remained silent for a moment. “Willst thou not sayeth something?” Nightmare Moon asked after a moment.

“Sorry… I’m trying to think of something comforting to say,” Jeremy admitted, grimacing again.

Nightmare Moon snorted. “Tis’ alright… we just needed somepony to talk to.”

Jeremy sighed. “It’s not alright, though. There is a place for you, even if you haven’t found it yet.” A thought occurred to him suddenly. “You know… most humans have a pretty similar problem. We don’t get Cutie Marks, after all, so we kind of have to guess what we’re supposed to do in life.”

Nightmare Moon appeared interested. “And if thou guess incorrectly? Or… if there existeth no answer at all?” she asked.

Jeremy shrugged. “We can keep trying. It’s the one advantage of not having a destiny – you can do anything, be anything you want.”

Nightmare Moon smiled at him. “Anything we want…” she muttered under her breath. “We hath always wanted to try something… mundane,” she admitted.

“Like what?” Jeremy asked curiously.

“…Gardening, perhaps. Or writing? Something… something with no consequences. That wouldst be nice…” Nightmare Moon softly wondered aloud.

Jeremy put his hands on both her withers. “Do it,” he encouraged. “Follow your dreams!”

Nightmare Moon giggled slightly. “It took a while… but thou didst find the right thing to say,” she ribbed, nuzzling his forehead.

Jeremy laughed, hugging her appreciatively. “Come on, Moony,” he enthused. “Let’s go get some food.” Arm and wing entwined around each other, the two of them left the lone room.

They entered the dining hall to find dinner well underway.

“There you are! We found your blanket abandoned, we thought you’d wandered off,” Sam chided, motioning for Jeremy to take a seat next to him. Jeremy obediently did so, Nightmare Moon sitting on his opposite side. She gave a nervous glance to Luna, who appeared to be steadfastly ignoring her.

“I was planning to save the leftovers for you, but I guess this works too,” Spike remarked, doling out a plate of what appeared to be gourmet pasta with spices and herbs and serving it to Jeremy with a slight bow.

“You made this? Wow, that’s impressive,” Jeremy commented, looking at the elegantly crafted dish. Just then, he noticed Chrysalis grumpily sitting a few seats away, staring at her plate of pasta. “Hey… you okay, Chryssi?” he asked.

Chrysalis sighed. “Fine,” she answered moodily.

Jeremy raised an eyebrow. “Are you… sure?” he pressed.

Chrysalis sighed louder. “It’s the food. I can’t eat it,” she explained.

“I’ll take it!” Rainbow immediately offered.

“You can’t digest anything but love?” Jeremy guessed, ignoring Rainbow Dash.

Chrysalis harrumphed. “I tried, once. It was a substance called ‘chili,’ and it was the meal of the day at Canterlot when I was… well, impersonating Cadance,” she finished, casting a guilty glance at the alicorn in question. “It felt like my mouth was on fire… but ponies around me were eating spoonful after spoonful like it was nothing.

Jeremy shared a knowing look with Sam. “I think that might’ve been because the chili was spicy. Some of us can handle the spiciness, and some can’t. If it makes you feel any better, I can’t eat spicy foods at all,” he soothed.

Sam snorted. “Jeremy’s more spice-sensitive than anyone I know. Foods with a spiciness rating of 0 Scovilles can still set him off.”

Jeremy laughed in return. “It’s happened,” he agreed.

Chrysalis gazed at him in interest. “So if I eat this, it won’t be painful?” she asked hopefully.

Jeremy looked at Spike, who shook his head. “Nothing spicy in there,” the young drake denied.

Jeremy took a bite to test, amused that his normally annoying sensitivity to spicy food was now coming in handy. Chrysalis watched him, interested, and he shrugged. “Nothing. Worst-case scenario, you’ll just be unable to digest it.”

Chrysalis raised a bite to her own mouth with her magic, and everyone watched as she tentatively introduced physical food to her mouth for the second time.

Her eyes widened as she chewed it. “Huh… tastes kind of like… avarice, with hints of pride?” she wondered.

“Hey!” Twilight immediately objected.

“What? I didn’t mean any insult by that. That's just how it tastes,” Chrysalis denied, looking at the lavender alicorn strangely.

“Interesting,” Jeremy noted.

Chrysalis took another bite, smiling slightly. “I kind of like it,” she admitted.

Spike pumped a fist in victory. “My cooking’s so good, even villains like it,” he boasted. Chrysalis glared at him, and Jeremy raised an eyebrow at Spike. “Er… I mean… even changeling queens… yeah…” Spike hastily amended.

Chrysalis rolled her eyes, and returned to her meal.

“Do ponies eat spicy foods like that… voluntarily?” Chrysalis asked after a while.

“Mm-hmm,” Jeremy affirmed, mouth full of pasta. He swallowed quickly before answering. “Even back home, people would do some crazy stupid stuff with food. Mainly as a show of bravado.”

Sam snorted. “Hey, Twilight, you ever heard of the Cinnamon Challenge?” he asked.

“No…” Twilight replied uncertainly.

Sam steepled his fingers, an evil grin on his face. “It’s very simple. You take a spoonful of cinnamon…” he went on, explaining the intricacies of attempting to choke oneself to death with irritating, spicy dust. By the time he had finished, Twilight had gone a flawless shade of mint green.

“That’s disgusting!” she exclaimed.

Nightmare Moon snorted. “Tis’ nothing new. In our day, stallions wouldst compete with similarly foalish games.”

Celestia, who had been mostly silent, gave a slight snort of amusement. “And that’s why I banned dueling just a century after you… left. Honestly, the things duelists would try to prove their ‘worth’…” Celestia trailed off.

“Like taking their opponents’ souls with the Seal of Orichalcos and banishing them to the Shadow Realm?” Kylie spoke up, sending all of the humans into fits of giggles.

“Kylie! That’s like, Season 0 evil!” Sam quoted, causing renewed laughter.

“You’re the Element of Laughter, right?” Jeremy asked, and Kylie proudly nodded.

“And me! I’m an Element of Laughter too!” Pinkie added happily.

“And me!” Discord announced, popping into existence in a burst of confetti with a comically oversized, fake Element necklace around his neck.

“Splendid! Now that I have you all in one place, it’s now time to enact my real evil plan,” Jeremy began. “Ending the universe with bad jokes!” The table just about fell over themselves laughing, and Luna mock-gasped, pointing an accusatory hoof at Jeremy.

“I knew it!” she dramatically proclaimed. “Everypony, we must protect Equestria – by telling good jokes!” Jeremy laughed evilly.

“It’s too late, Luna! Prepare for death… by puns!” he concluded, those rare few that had managed to recover themselves promptly falling over again in renewed laughter. Celestia was laughing too, all semblance of forum decorum gone as she giggled and snorted like a small schoolfilly. Jeremy watched her laugh raucously, satisfied.

A while later, Jeremy looked curiously over at the other humans, still eating their helpings of pasta and bread. “So. How’s being Elements of Harmony going?” he asked, causing most of them to look up.

“Pretty good, I guess… Do I know you? I feel like we’ve met before this,” Brayden asked.

Jeremy smirked. “High school. I was the guy who was either sleeping next to Sam or watching him play games during morning period.” A collective “Oohhh” echoed from the humans, and Jeremy cracked up. Looking around again, Cory caught his eye, dress shirt still on as he dug into his pasta with vigor. “Um. Cory…why… why are you dressed so formally?” Jeremy asked.

The heavyset blonde smiled. “I was in the middle of band practice when I was… uh… ‘taken.’” Jeremy nodded in understanding. “Besides, somebody has to look nice,” Cory scoffed, and Rarity chuckled appreciatively from a corner.

Jeremy snorted in amusement again, and glanced over at the next human.

Kylie stared back, sighing. “Right. Okay, so… I used to be a girl, as you know, and I decided that wasn’t my thing, and…” he trailed off.

“That’s not what I was going to ask about! I wanted to know how you got your hair to look so good. Transition or not, that must take a lot of upkeep!” Jeremy remarked, frowning bemusedly.

Caught off guard, Kylie laughed. “The ponies at the Canterlot spa did my hair last week. They were super proud of it, and… apparently one of their hair products makes it stay in this shape for a while? It kinda explains all the wacky hairdos we see on Ponyville citizens,” Kylie explained.

“Huh. I guess so,” Jeremy agreed, wondering what that hair product was made of and where he might get some.

“Anyway, turns out they’re all my friends from high school, for… some reason,” Sam wondered aloud.

Jeremy shrugged. “Makes a bit more sense for Elements of Harmony than five strangers you only just met,” he jabbed at Twilight, who giggled.

“So, napping, huh? My kind of friendship,” Rainbow Dash chimed in, recalling them to the start of the conversation.

Sam laughed. “Jeremy’s closer to Twilight in personality than he is to you, Dash. Isn’t that right, Mr. Literally Science Incarnate?” he teased, looking over at Jeremy.

Jeremy grinned. “Oh, well, I dunno about that. Now that Twilight’s here, we might have to reconsider that trophy for ‘nerdiest nerd’ you gave to me the exact second we met.”

Shining Armor snorted. “Twilight’ll beat you without even trying,” he dismissed.

“Shiny!” Cadance complained, punching him on the withers gently. “Don’t make it a contest!”

Jeremy leaned forward, grinning indulgently as he put his fork down. “Oh, this already was a contest, Cadance,” he joked. “Too bad I’m still kind of specialized in only one area, though. It’d be nice to be experienced in a few more fields.”

Twilight looked over at him curiously. “What area do you specialize in?” she asked, summoning a quill and notebook to the dinner table with a flash of purple magic.

“Materials science. It used to be called ‘metallurgy’ until polymers and ceramics were lumped in,” Jeremy explained.

“Fascinating… what do you do in this ‘metallurgy’?” Twilight wondered aloud. Jeremy looked over at Sam in confusion.

“They have basically no scientific advancement, remember?” Sam reminded him.

“Hey!” Twilight objected. “Just because you humans use technology for everything…”

Jeremy chuckled. “Don’t worry, there’s no shame in being behind. That just gives you a chance to learn without our mistakes. Anyway, metallurgy is about mixing different metallic elements to optimize their properties, usually focusing on the tensile strength and ductility of the resultant alloy. There’s also some side stuff about exotic materials and composites, but it’s mostly a study of steel alloys.”

Twilight looked at him strangely, then looked to Shining. “About half of that went over my head,” she admitted, and there was a collective challenging “Ooohh” from around the room.

Jeremy put his head in his hands and began shaking, trying to hide his laughter. “C’mon guys, I’m not actually trying to outnerd her! I just want to share some knowledge!” Jeremy mock-complained. “Besides, I don’t know anything about magic, so I say we’re about equal. Anyway, what didn’t you understand?” he asked.

Twilight looked over what she had written down. “…What’s an element?” she asked.

Jeremy raised an eyebrow at her. “…Oh. That’s… you know, an element from the Periodic Table?”

Twilight gave him a blank expression, and Jeremy returned it with a dismayed one of his own. “We’re starting at the very beginning, huh…” he trailed off.

An hour later, he and Twilight were still in the thick of it, amidst a literal pile of notes. The plates had been put away, and everyone else had vacated the seats between the two of them, allowing the ever-growing pile of papers to pile up without interruption.

“So the atomic weight is averaged across the isotopes by the natural occurrence of each one?” she clarified.

Jeremy nodded. “You’d need some pretty sophisticated measuring equipment to figure that one out over here. I think the way we ended up doing it was setting carbon-12 to weigh exactly 12 ‘atomic mass units’. Yes, that was our name for them,” Jeremy dryly answered Twilight’s skeptical look. “Anyway, I didn’t remember many of them, but I wrote down on the Table which ones I did.”

Sam, who had been vaguely paying attention, chuckled. “I still can’t believe you drew the entire Periodic Table from memory,” he sighed.

Jeremy looked at him indignantly. “Pretty sure I got some of these names wrong, though. Ah well, you’ll figure it out,” he said aside to Twilight, who eagerly nodded.

“How dost thou remember all of this?” Nightmare Moon wondered, looking at all the facts and figures splayed out across the table.

“It was part of my education, and also I’m a super super nerd,” Jeremy answered.

Shining Armor laughed. “You’re so cool about it, though,” the prince commented, chuckling. “I wish I had nerd friends like you when I was growing up.”

Jeremy smirked. “We could’ve been the Nerd Squad,” he continued. “Twilight would have been the leader, obviously.” Twilight laughed appreciatively.

Celestia smiled at the joke, and to Luna and Nightmare Moon’s surprise, stood up, stretching her wings. “If it’s all the same to you… I am going to bed for the night. And Jeremy… thank you for getting me out of that room. If you ever need anything… don’t ever hesitate to talk to me.”

Jeremy gave her a warm smile, just like he’d seen her do. “Same to you, Celestia. Take care of yourself,” he concluded. Celestia nodded, and excused herself from the room.

Luna watched her sister go, a small smile on her face. “I suppose I shall have to take over this campaign while Tia recovers, then… At least she is doing better. Thank you, Jeremy,” she politely stated.

“You’re welcome. And what do you mean by ‘campaign’?” Jeremy asked, raising an eyebrow.

Luna took a seat across from him, pushing a stack of papers out of the way as she placed her forelegs on the table in a serious manner. “The human Elements of Harmony were summoned here because we actually needed a set of Elements to combat the challenges ahead. Having given up our own to power the Harmony Tree, the former pony Elements cannot use theirs,” Luna explained.

“What about the Rainbow Power, from inside the box?” Jeremy asked.

Luna looked at him strangely, and behind her Sam made frantic “no” motions at him silently. “How do you know about that?” she asked.

“Tirek told me. He was pretty mad about it,” Jeremy answered calmly. Technically, this was true – in one particular game of Yahtzee, after a string of losses, Tirek had claimed much the same. Sam fell to his seat, relieved.

“Ah,” Luna muttered under her breath. “In that case, the reason we cannot use the ‘Rainbow Power’ is because… well… we do not know how,” Luna explained. “It has not activated since the last incident.”

Jeremy shrugged. “Sure it isn’t just ‘waiting for the right time,’ or something?” he tried. Luna shook her head. “Nay. We received a message from… a certain somepony… detailing the need for Elements of Harmony, and giving us a spell to summon such. We have spent the time since training the new Elements to use their powers appropriately, though we have not encountered any major enemy thus far.”

Jeremy leaned back, closing his eyes in thought and steepling his fingers. “Well, if the Element of Love attached itself to me while in Tartarus, and the other Elements have been here before me, then I’d hazard a reasonable guess that the first villain is going to appear really soon,” he posited.

Nightmare Moon raised an eyebrow at him. “Hath not the first villain already appeared, and been defeated?” she inquired.

Jeremy rolled his eyes. “I hardly count Celestia as a villain, much less… what did she call herself? ‘Daybreaker?'”

Nightmare Moon shrugged. “Suit thyself,” she answered, returning to her preoccupation.

Noticing the pause in the conversation, Luna resumed her speech. “In addition to the humans, some new technology was summoned into the Canterlot Palace as well. Some… interesting technology.”

Jeremy raised an eyebrow. “Do tell,” he answered simply.

“There is what you humans describe as a ‘monitor’ or ‘electronic billboard’, which details statistics of all relevant humans and ponies, such as overall health, conditions, locations, and items. There are also some more obscure statistics, such as ‘SAVE’, ‘RESET’, and ‘QUIT’, with the amount of times these actions have been performed beside them. Despite there being a virtual ‘button’ to press for each of these, we cannot activate them by touch as with the other options. Would you happen to know anything about this?” Luna asked.

Jeremy was pretty sure every changeling could sense his panic, but he managed to remain calm. “Not in the slightest,” Jeremy answered dryly. “I could guess what they do, if you want me to?”

Luna shook her head. “We have already heard the most likely explanations, and they seem… inadequate. For now, then, it appears we shall simply have to wait and see.”

Jeremy mentally sighed in relief.

What happened? Chrysalis asked sharply.

Luna wanted to know about the SAVE function. Seems like there’s something in Canterlot that keeps track of it, Jeremy answered.

Oh dear. Does she have any clue at all? Chrysalis asked.

Seems like the other humans told her, due to that being a common mechanic of certain types of games back home. However, she doesn’t know that she’s in a story or a game, and thus doesn’t believe it. Lucky us, Jeremy remarked.

Good. We’ll have to check over those numbers sometime, Chrysalis thought.

How’d you know about the numbers? Jeremy asked.

You were remembering what she said. Hive mind, remember? Chrysalis answered.

Ooohh. Clever, very clever, Jeremy returned.

“So, what happens now?” he asked the group, returning to the conversation.

“Now?” Sam cut in, chuckling evilly. “Let’s go practice magic.”

Jeremy burst into laughter, instantly recognizing the reference. “In all seriousness, though. Are we staying here? Going to Canterlot?” he asked Luna.

“Given that the Elements’ items and the Monitor are both in Canterlot, everypony will be returning there for the time being,” Luna explained. “The purpose of our visit to Ponyville was originally intended as a one-day rest stop before continuing onwards to your Hive, to ascertain the nature of your appearance. Once we are certain the danger to Equestria has passed, the humans will be sent back to Earth, and things will presumably continue as normal.”

Chrysalis growled at this, and both Luna and Jeremy looked at her curiously. “What if they want to stay?” the changeling queen aggressively countered.

Luna raised an eyebrow. “If any wish to stay, they may do so,” she answered.

At this, Chrysalis abruptly stopped raising her hackles, looking sheepish. “Right… I just… I don’t want you taken away from me,” she muttered, looking back at Jeremy.

“Relax. Even if it happened, I’ll always find my way back,” Jeremy dismissed.

“Either that, or I’ll come find you,” Chrysalis muttered darkly.

“But what if we try to find each other and both get lost?” Jeremy wondered humorously.

Chrysalis’ mouth twitched upward. “You totally would,” she quipped, and Jeremy laughed.

“I totally would,” he agreed, pulling her into a hug.

“…Well, anyway, we leave for Canterlot tomorrow. Your friends may come if they so choose, but keep in mind they will have… an armed escort,” Luna admitted, reminding them of the conversation.

“If you must,” Nightmare Moon agreed.

“Do we have to?” Sombra complained.

Jeremy hesitated, nodding after a moment. “Fine by me, as long as the guards don’t get too pushy,” he answered. “Still, I wonder how Tirek will feel about it?”

Tirek chose that moment to duck his head through the window. “I don’t care,” he answered.

Jeremy looked over in surprise. “Hey, do you want some dinner?” he called over.

“I’m not hungry,” Tirek called back.

Jeremy gave Tirek a petulant frown, but accepted this, and Tirek ducked his head back outside, closing the window. “I hope he isn’t starving himself,” Jeremy muttered, adjusting Chrysalis’ position on his lap.

“He’ll be fine. He survived a thousand years without much food, he’s very tough,” Chrysalis soothed, rubbing a comforting hoof across his chest.

Avery looked over at them, a curious expression on his face.

“What?” Jeremy asked.

“Nothing. You two just look really cute together… and now I want to hug something,” he answered.

“Well, go hug a changeling,” Jeremy laughed. “They probably wouldn’t mind.” Avery joined in his laughter. “Say, what’s your Element again?” Jeremy asked.

“Loyalty,” Avery answered.

Jeremy nodded. “Neat. I’m the Element of… Love, I guess? Still getting used to that,” Jeremy replied.

Cadance laughed. “’Love I Guess’… truly an Element to be feared,” she teased.

“Well, if it only guesses it’s Love, it could be a whole bunch of things,” Jeremy continued, grinning as well.

“For instance, it could be the Element of Hyperdeath,” Sam remarked dryly from the corner, to chuckles all around the room.

Luna put a reassuring wing around Jeremy. “Well, as soon as you do figure out what your Element That Definitely Isn’t Love is, you can join the other Elements,” she said in a motherly tone.

Jeremy just about lost it, and Chrysalis had to move out of the way as he doubled over chortling. Luna quickly joined in, though Nightmare Moon seemed strangely unamused.

Jeremy went upstairs after the meal had concluded, Chrysalis tagging behind as he made for his bedroom once more.

“You feeling okay? No indigestion?” he asked.

Chrysalis rolled her eyes, though she was smiling. “For the fourth time, I’m fine,” she reassured him.

“Yeah… I just want to make sure. It is your second time eating food, after all, and if something happens…” Jeremy trailed off.

“If something happens, you can just go and undo it,” Chrysalis snorted. Jeremy quickly looked around to make sure nobody had overheard this, and Chrysalis flashed him a guilty smile as she caught on. “Whoops. Sorry,” she whispered.

“It’s fine… just… I’d rather keep it a secret, okay?” Jeremy muttered back.

“Yeah. I know. I won’t do it again,” Chrysalis agreed.

Jeremy took a moment to brush his teeth with the toothbrush and toothpaste that had been provided, noting with a certain pleasure how similar they looked to the variety back home. The only real difference was that they appeared to be made out of natural materials – the plastic handle and bristles had been replaced by a wood handle and some kind of fiber. The toothpaste itself tasted the same as ordinary toothpaste, and Jeremy greatly enjoyed the minty fresh smell of his breath as he climbed into his new bed, Chrysalis clambering in along with him and immediately curling herself into his chest, snuggling with all her might.

“I hope Nightmare Moon’s okay,” Jeremy mumbled. “She was feeling down earlier.”

Chrysalis thought for a moment. “One second,” she replied, extricating herself from the covers, and trotting out the door. Surprised, Jeremy watched her go.

She came back a moment later, Nightmare Moon in tow. “But will the bedchambers be large enough to host the three of us?” Nightmare Moon was questioning.

Chrysalis rolled her eyes. “If not, we can just enlarge the bed with magic. Don’t worry about it, really.” She turned to Jeremy. “Snuggle pile?” she asked.

“Snuggle pile,” Jeremy agreed.

Nightmare Moon jumped onto the bed, sending Jeremy a foot into the air as the springs creaked to support her weight. Gracefully, the dream demon flipped around, catching Jeremy with a hoof and bringing him to a resting position on her belly as the covers neatly fell to cover just up to Jeremy’s neck.

“Well, that was impressive,” Jeremy quipped as Chrysalis completed the snuggle pile, Nightmare Moon extending a wing outward as the changeling queen nuzzled her way into Jeremy’s embrace.

“We hath been practicing,” Nightmare Moon retorted with a slight laugh.

Jeremy drifted off, lost in the warmth and comfort of the embrace of his two closest partners.

He awoke in the morning feeling vaguely as though something was wrong. Concerned, he got out of bed, taking care not to disturb either Chrysalis or Nightmare Moon, both of whom were still asleep.

Wandering down the corridor, Jeremy rubbed his eyes, trying to adjust to the morning sun. He felt as though he’d only slept for a few hours – his sleep schedule had been shot to pieces ever since sleeping at the Hive. He’d never been able to tell what time it was, without the light of the sun or any nearby clocks.

As he stepped into Twilight's throne room, he noted the lack of ponies or humans present – it seemed nobody was awake yet. Except possibly Celestia, because somebody had to have raised the sun. Jeremy mulled over how normal that concept had become, that he’d instantly been able to make that conclusion. Had he been on Earth, it would have meant nothing that the sun was already up – just an indication of approximately what time of day it was.

He gently pushed the castle door open, stepping into the sunlight. The conversation of nearby ponies reached his ears, as did the chirping of birds and a gentle rustle of wind. It smelled like… well, like a morning, insofar as Jeremy could describe. Maybe it was the scent of dew that permeated his nose? Or maybe it was something else. All Jeremy knew was that it was that unique ‘morning’ smell. He didn’t see anything wrong, so maybe he should head back to bed? But something still felt like it was missing. He looked around, taking a seat on the doorstep. A few ponies were milling about, occasionally glancing at him curiously as he glanced right back. The few houses that weren’t obscured by the nearby hills looked fine. So what was bothering him, then? What was missing from this scene? He looked to his right, and immediately spotted the discrepancy, mentally smacking himself in the face for not remembering earlier. Lord Tirek had disappeared, the Guards who had been looking after him also having left. Jeremy picked himself up, walking over to the space Tirek had been, just outside the castle. He heard the rustling of paper above him, and looked up curiously. To his surprise, there was a note tucked into the windowsill of the castle window just above the spot, in a place so high that only Tirek or a pegasus could have placed it there. Jeremy couldn’t reach it from the ground, so he grabbed onto the sharp facets of crystal that made up the outside of the Castle of Friendship. The crystal was smooth and slippery, but he eventually managed to stand on top of one of the ‘roots,’ slightly closer to his goal. Maybe he could jump and grab it? He tried just that, barely managing to snatch the note from its position before crashing down to the ground. Adjusting himself, he unfolded the note, wondering what Tirek was doing.

“Dear Jeremy, and whoever else reads this,

I’m going. It’s not you, you’ve done nothing wrong. And I’m not going to do anything stupid. I just want to go home for a bit. Maybe talk to the new King and Queen, introduce myself. I’ve learned enough about friendship that I think I’ll be okay. I just…

I have to know. It’s been a thousand years since I last saw the place, and…

I just have to.

-Lord Tirek

P.S. The guards ran away overnight. Report them for dereliction of duty, or whatever red-tape you ponies do when your military are a bunch of cowards.”

Jeremy snorted in amusement at the last sentence, pocketing the note, but his mirth quickly turned to sorrow. Tirek was gone. Sure, he had a good reason to be, but Jeremy was unsure quite how to take this kind of news. He’d never really imagined Tirek… leaving. Whenever he thought about the future, Tirek had always been there, in the background, saying some snarky comment or striking a muscular pose.

“He’ll be fine,” a voice spoke from behind him, and Jeremy jumped about a foot as he whirled around. To his surprise, it was Chrysalis, looking sleepy.

“Hi… didn’t see you there. Um… well, yeah. I guess he will be. I just hope he doesn’t… break when he sees his home changed after a thousand years,” Jeremy muttered.

Chrysalis snorted. “He’s stronger than that, you know he is. After all he’s been through, he’ll probably shrug it off.” Jeremy’s grimace was reluctant to leave his face, and Chrysalis grabbed him with a hoof and began dragging him inside. “Come on. It’s early morning, and I want cuddles.”

Jeremy’s expression finally broke, and he chuckled. “Oh… alright.”

Hours later, they awoke again, having drifted off in each other’s embrace. Nightmare Moon was still fast asleep, not having stirred once, and they briefly glanced at her to confirm her slumber before their lips met in a well-practiced embrace.

“This… is heaven,” Jeremy sighed, running a finger through a lock of Chrysalis’s hair as she purred in satisfaction.

“The others were moving around a lot… a few minutes ago,” Chrysalis informed him, yawning cutely midway through the sentence. “Sounds like they were packing up their stuff.”

Jeremy smirked. “Moving out, huh? Good thing I don’t… have anything to pack,” he quipped, succumbing to a yawn of his own.

Chrysalis giggled, booping him on the nose. “We should probably get up,” she commented, sounding as though even she wasn’t going to follow her advice.

Jeremy groaned. “But it’s so comfy, and warm…” he quietly whined.

Chrysalis nodded, closing her eyes again. “Yeah… we can always follow them later,” she agreed drowsily.

Unfortunately, their third attempt that day at sleeping was not meant to be. Sam walked in a few minutes later, stopping in surprise as he observed the trio snoozing away.

“Um. Hey. You three. Time to… get up? We’re all leaving for Canterlot,” Sam tried, sounding awkward.

Jeremy simply groaned in dismay as a response, and Sam huffed a sigh. “Hey, I’m just the messenger,” he defended.

“Is that… Nightmare Moon?” Cadance’s voice came from beyond the doorway. “Oh my goodness! Shiny, come look at this! Nightmare Moon, Chrysalis and Jeremy are cuddling!”

Shining’s laugh could be heard a few doors down. “One sec…” he called back, sounding as though he were getting closer. There was a brief babble of an unknown voice, and Shining could be heard speaking back, using a tone best reserved for small children and puppies. “Wow. That really is adorable,” Shining commented.

Chrysalis’ eyes flew open. “Who dares call the Queen of the Changelings ‘adorable’?” she hissed in outrage, as Shining jumped back, startled.

“Me,” Jeremy promptly replied, raising a hand in the air and pulling her back onto the bed.

Sam began laughing, and Nightmare Moon awoke, looking around in confusion. “Wherefore art all of thee in our room?” she asked bemusedly.

“Sorry, Auntie Lu-“ Cadance began, and stopped, looking at Nightmare Moon in confusion.

Nightmare Moon shrugged. “As Jeremy sayeth so often, what-ever. Couldst thee exit for but a moment, that we may arouse our friends?” Cadance promptly blushed scarlet, and Shining and Sam both stifled shocked giggles.

“It means ‘awaken,’ you five-year-olds! Get out of our room so we can get ready!” Jeremy irritably explained, and all three of them ducked out of the room, laughing their heads off.

Nightmare Moon watched them go, a completely lost expression on her face. “What didst they presume we intended?” she wondered.

Jeremy rolled his eyes. “I’ll tell you while we get dressed,” he muttered.

A few minutes later, they were downstairs and waiting in the throne room, Nightmare Moon still blushing vividly from Jeremy’s explanation. Cadance would occasionally glance over at the dream demon, hiding a smirk behind her hoof, and Chrysalis always raised an eyebrow whenever the pink alicorn tried to look at her.

“So, ready to head out?” Jeremy asked Celestia, as soon as she came near. Her pink, unwaving hair had been neatly combed, but it hung limply about her shoulders, almost as glum as the expression on her face.

“Yes… well, as ready as I’ll ever be. It will be good to peruse the Monitor again... being without it for so long has left me worried about the humans’ statistics,” Celestia admitted.

“Did you ever figure out who sent that, by the way? I’d be a bit concerned if someone just told me to summon creatures from another dimension and dumped a bunch of stuff in front of me,” he remarked.

Celestia looked away. “I have… a guess,” she whispered. “Nothing I can say here.”

Jeremy eyed her warily, but decided to let it go. “If you say so,” he dismissed.

Just then, Rarity came trotting by, a contented smile on her face as Spike followed behind, struggling to carry the massive pile of suitcases and bags that Rarity was apparently taking with her.

“…Really?” Jeremy remarked to the white unicorn, looking up at the towering pillar of luggage.

“Well, somepony has to keep the rest of us looking beautiful, and seeing as nopony else bothered to pack the absolute essentials…” Rarity trailed off meaningfully, flipping her hair.

Jeremy rolled his eyes, stooping down to take the pile from Spike’s claws. To his surprise, the pile was extremely heavy – maybe eighty pounds’ worth of stuff, stacked in the most unwieldy and precarious manner possible. How had Spike possibly carried all of this? Jeremy grunted with effort as he made his way outside, a bag bumping the top of the imposingly tall door and falling off the pile before being levitated back on by Chrysalis.

“Thanks… Chryssi…” Jeremy got out, staggering his way down the steps and over to a nearby chariot, dumping the pile of bags on it in relief.

“Um, actually, that’s… Celestia’s chariot,” Twilight spoke up from behind him, and Jeremy glanced over sternly at her sheepish grin, crossing his arms stubbornly.

“It’s okay, Twilight. I’ll just ride in the other chariot this time,” Celestia dismissed.

Twilight raised an eyebrow at her former mentor. “But you never ride in anything else,” she pointed out.

Jeremy shrugged. “First time for everything. She can finally ride with the big kids,” he ribbed. Twilight grumbled something, but accepted this, and made her way over to the other humans.

“Thanks,” Celestia whispered, shooting him a furtive smile.

“You know you’re going to have to talk with her about it eventually,” Jeremy whispered back.

“Eventually… but not now,” Celestia replied, sighing as her brief moment of relief vanished.

“Okay, everypony aboard!” Twilight called out, and the assorted humans and ponies began to board the larger chariot next to Celestia’s, the same one Jeremy had seen them arrive at his Hive in.

“Should we do something about all that?” he asked Chrysalis, Nightmare Moon and Sombra, pointing at Celestia’s now-full chariot, which her Day Guards were eyeing nervously.

Nightmare Moon took one look at the chariot and scoffed. “Tis’ not a problem. If they art half the Guard we used to have, they shalt easily carry that to Canterlot,” she dismissed, turning her nose up.

“The Guards in our day weren’t that strong, Nightmare Moon,” Sombra growled back.

“Here, let me,” Chrysalis sighed, intervening before the two could start bickering. She lit her horn, her magic glowing brightly even in the daylight as the carriage glowed green along with it.

“Did that do anything?” Jeremy wondered, observing no change as he watched the chariot carefully.

“Of course it did, I made it lighter,” Chrysalis explained.

“Oh. I guess…” Jeremy hesitantly agreed, climbing into the carriage awkwardly as he took a seat next to Cadance.

“What do you mean, ‘you guess?’ Honestly, sometimes you act like you’ve never seen a spell before,” Chrysalis snorted.

“Well, before I got here, I hadn’t,” Jeremy confirmed, and Chrysalis, Nightmare Moon, and Sombra stopped to look at him in shock.

“…What?” Sombra queried incredulously, and Jeremy shrugged.

“Our world doesn’t have any magic on it, so… I’ve never had any experience with magic until I landed in Tartarus.”

Nightmare Moon’s jaw fairly dropped. “But – but that is preposterous!” she exclaimed.

“I agree!” Twilight spoke up irritably. “No magic? It violates every magical law in existence! Faust’s Law, the Star Swirl Principle, Discord Theory… they can’t all be invalidated by your universe!”

Jeremy raised an eyebrow. “Who says our universe works on the same rules?” he countered.

Twilight scoffed. “They can’t be that different, not if your universe’s inhabitants can interact with ours,” she retorted.

Jeremy considered this. “Still… the empirical evidence doesn’t lie. If magic were in our universe, I would think that somebody would have discovered it by now,” he pointed out.

Twilight turned up her nose. “Then I’ll have to be the first,” she insisted.

Jeremy chuckled, and shrugged amicably. “If you say so,” he agreed. “Say, does anyone know why we humans have some sort of immunity to magic?” he asked after a moment.

“Yes, we figured it out shortly after the first few humans arrived,” Luna answered. “It seems that whatever humans are made of lacks some sort of… component to interact directly with magic in any part of their body. Thus, direct magic simply acts as if the human was not there. Indirect magic, however, involving physical objects or changes to the environment, still works on the physical component of the human’s body.”

Jeremy nodded, interested. “And, uh… are there any other ‘special powers’ humans have?” he asked.

Luna looked at him oddly. “Not that we have discovered. Why… do you have something to share?” she wondered.

Jeremy leaned back, hoping his posture didn’t look too defensive. “No, I just thought it’d be nice if humans could… you know, shoot lasers or something.”

Sam laughed loudly. “Shoot lasers?” he asked.

Jeremy crossed his arms petulantly. “Well, anything’s possible!” he pouted.

Shining Armor snorted. “Believe me, if humans could shoot lasers, we’d know.”

Jeremy rolled his eyes, secretly relieved he’d managed to steer the conversation off its dangerous path.

A few hours later, conversation was all but null in the now-cramped cabin. Jeremy had spaced out a while ago, gazing at the floor. Chrysalis was asleep in his lap, her breath rippling across his sweater. The humans were in a similar stupor, whereas most of the ponies were somehow still awake and alert. Celestia was snoring gently, leaning up against Luna, who looked distinctly uncomfortable.

“Can I see your Element of Love, Jeremy?” Cadance spoke up quietly.

Jeremy jerked awake. “Oh? Hmm… yeah. Here,” he offered, pulling off the necklace and handing over the plastic heart.

Cadance took it in her magical grip, probing over it and examining the seam. “The last time you opened it, that shield came out…” Cadance remembered.

Jeremy gave a semi-interested hum.

“You know, it’s kind of strange…” Cadance wondered aloud. “When I first saw you, just after you fought… him, I thought you had some kind of secret. Some special power, or something.”

Jeremy was suddenly very interested in the conversation.

“But seeing you fight Luna… and from what I heard from Celestia… you really don’t use a lot of magic, do you? You just… kinda… dodge everything. I mean sure, that’s a pretty neat skill to have, but I was expecting… I dunno, something flashier,” Cadance rambled.

Jeremy gave a short, quiet laugh. “Nah. Just my legs and my mouth,” he answered. Cadance blushed crimson, and Jeremy raised an eyebrow at her. “Girl… you need to get your head out of the gutter,” he muttered.

Cadance giggled quietly. “Sorry. Been reading a bit too much… ‘literature’ lately,” she replied. Jeremy stifled a giggle of his own.

He watched the landscape roll by, thousands of feet below. It reminded him of when he had been flying on Chrysalis’ back, just a few hundred feet above a broiling pit of churning lava. He was seized by a sudden urge to recreate the scene – jump out, fall nearly to his death, wait for Nightmare Moon to fly downwards and rescue him. Immediately, he came to his senses – what kind of thought was that? Why would he ever want to relive those moments? He tore his gaze from the carriage window, looking at his sleeping friends. Nightmare Moon, the only other one awake in the carriage, caught his gaze. Neither of them was awake enough to converse, however, and Jeremy looked away, staring down at Chrysalis. She kicked a leg gently, and Jeremy smiled slightly as he softly rubbed her belly. He hadn’t traveled back to this point, so he had no idea for certain, but he got the distinct feeling that things would only get harder from here on in. With that thought in mind, he elected to relax a moment, shifting Chrysalis so that he was hugging her like an oversized teddy bear and drifting off to sleep.

The carriage bumped and rocked as they landed, and Jeremy was jolted awake. “Huh? Oh, we’re landing,” he realized, shaking himself into a more alert state.

“Already?” Chrysalis mumbled, seemingly having been awoken at the same time.

“Yep. Time to wake up, honey,” he gently replied, nudging her.

Chrysalis grumbled, sitting up on his lap and rubbing her eyes. Sam and the other humans were already up, having roused themselves some time before, and Celestia and Luna were absent from the cabin, though Jeremy could hear their voices outside. He reached over and shook Nightmare Moon awake.

“Hhh…wha?” Nightmare Moon mumbled, blearily opening her eyes to look at him.

“We’ve landed, time to get going,” he repeated, smiling at her.

Sombra, annoyed by the shifting of Kylie to his left, promptly woke up, looking around in irritation before realizing what was going on.

Jeremy stepped out of the carriage into the Canterlot night, politely waiting as the others exited. Guards were swarming around the place, directing each other as some inspected the carriage and others stood watch, presumably for any that might spy them arriving.

“Hey… where are all of our changelings again?” Jeremy whispered to Chrysalis while they were waiting.

“They’re following. I’m going to talk to Celestia about it,” Chrysalis whispered, and promptly trotted off to do just that, leaving Jeremy alone with a barely-awake Sam and an even grumpier than usual Sombra.

“...So, this is Canterlot,” Jeremy noted, looking around. The opulence of the palace had been understated in the show – everything was polished and gleaming, from the marble towers to the gilded, Arabian tops with purple flags flying from them. The moon shone overhead, stars twinkling as a faded pink nebula lit up the cloudless night in varying shades of purple and blue.

“We were here… briefly,” Sombra remembered. “You were out cold and nearly dead, because it was just after you fought the System Defenses. The four of us fled this place, carrying you, as Guards pursued us the whole way.” Jeremy looked over in surprise.

“The secret exit to Tartarus is here?” he queried incredulously. “In the capital city of Equestria?!”

Sam shrugged. “It does make for easy monitoring, apparently. But… yeah, that happened. We were all pretty confused about it.”

Jeremy stared at the pair of them for a moment. “That’s… weird to think about,” he replied uncertainly.

“What, that we had to flee and drag your body with us after you saved the world?” Sombra replied, snorting in amusement.

“No, that Celestia keeps the entrance to Tartarus that close by. If any villain who could escape Tartarus had instant access to Canterlot, wouldn’t that be a massive security risk?” he wondered.

Sombra laughed. “Any villain who can escape Tartarus is already too powerful to be stopped. Remember, the Harmony Barrier only worked because those with insufficiently pure souls couldn’t cross it – anyone who managed to get past that with villainous intent would have to be stronger than the Maker.”

Jeremy considered this. “…Still,” he responded, reluctant to accept this line of reasoning.

Chrysalis returned, seemingly frustrated. “We can’t live in the city proper, as they don’t have space. Celestia suggested the caves underneath Canterlot,” she grumbled.

“…The same caves you camped in just before the invasion,” Jeremy clarified. Chrysalis nodded. Jeremy sighed. “Well… I guess if we want to keep the Hive within safe reach, we don’t have much of a choice. Hopefully we can at least spruce up the place.”

Once everyone was out of the carriage and reasonably awake, Luna turned to face the lot of them.

“I am going to have to swear you all to secrecy regarding this place. It is a secret landing spot, used only for emergencies. Do all of you promise to keep this a secret?” she asked. Immediately, there was a chorus of affirmations, and Luna nodded in satisfaction. “Then let us proceed,” she commanded.

The Royal Guards surrounding them immediately began marching, and they were herded like sheep into the streets of Canterlot. Jeremy looked around in fascination at the different shops – Alchemist’s Wonderland, promised one, while another simply stated Muffins!

Pinkie, noticing his gaze, giggled. “That one’s my favorite!” she proclaimed, causing the others to look at the muffin store as well.

Jeremy chuckled, continuing to look around. There were restaurants, magical item shops, apothecaries, jewelry shops, and bakeries… all on the same street. This place was everything he could ever want in a city, and he hadn’t even seen an eighth of it yet. He couldn’t keep his gaze steady, even turning around and walking backwards just to stare at things longer, to the irritation of the Guards around him.

Finally, they approached the palace proper, a massive wall between this and the rest of the city the only indication of where it was. There was an equally large wooden door set into the marble wall, and it immediately swung inwards as they approached, Guards inside straining with thick ropes to ensure the door remained open.

Do we need this for our palace? Chrysalis wondered over their telepathic link.

These are built for two purposes, siege warfare and to impress the citizens. No on the first one, probably not for the second, Jeremy denied.

Okay, good. This looks like it would be annoying to build, Chrysalis snarked, and Jeremy grinned as they were ushered inside and up the steps.

The moonlit throne room was too dark to see much, but Jeremy did spy what appeared to be a suitcase sitting dead center on the red carpet, a shaft of moonlight surreptitiously illuminating it.

“Whose is that?” he wondered, pointing at it. The other humans looked at it, and shrugged, and Jeremy walked over to it. “Well, how about that… it’s mine,” he revealed, straining his eyes to read the nametag.

“That’s your suitcase?” Celestia noted with surprise.

“None of us got a suitcase!” Avery complained.

Jeremy shrugged. “I… guess?” He rolled it back over to the group.

“…Anyway, the Monitor is over there. Perhaps we’ll show it to you in the morning, but for now let’s get everyone to their beds,” Celestia explained, pointing.

Jeremy looked over at this so-called Monitor, which was on the left wall of the room directly in line with the throne itself. It just looked like a TV screen – what was so special about it? He resolved to find out later, as the others were already being herded by Celestia and Luna through a side corridor.

Two sets of stairs and a few bridges later, they had arrived at a seemingly empty patch of wall. Without another word, Luna stepped through the patch of wall, seemingly disappearing. The other humans seemed very impressed at this trick, but Jeremy and Chrysalis looked at each other knowingly before following her through. The hallway beyond the illusion was dark blue and packed with doors, torches lit a welcoming shade of yellow as a plush carpet greeted their feet and hooves.

Once through, Luna viewed them with some surprise. “It seems you are braver than the rest,” she complimented.

Jeremy shrugged. “Not really. We use this kind of trick in the Hive, too. Nice try, though.”

Luna snorted. “I think you shall find that this ‘trick’ is impressive yet, but I’ll save the explanation for when the rest overcome their initial fears.”

Almost as if on cue, Sam stuck his head through the wall, bringing the rest of his body through the illusion a moment later. He stuck his head back out, and the rest quickly followed.

“Very well. This is a recent creation of both mine and Discord’s, and is where the lot of you will be staying for the time being. It is constructed of dream magic, and Discord has isolated it from the rest of this universe – effectively making it a safe haven should any of you need it,” Luna explained.

“Alright, that’s pretty impressive. So this is the single safest spot on the planet, then?” Jeremy asked.

Luna considered this. “Perhaps. It certainly is very safe, at any rate,” she mused. “At any rate, I shall be retiring to my quarters. Jeremy, the dining hall is through the door to the right of the throne, and mealtimes are at what the other humans claim are standard times. If you have need of me, either send for a Lunar Guard or fall asleep, and I shall come to aid you. Good night to you all,” she concluded, disappearing through the wall once more. “Tia, you coming?” she asked a moment later, poking her head back through the wall in what looked like a ‘clipping’ error from a video game.

“…Yes, of course,” Celestia answered, following her through with one last, curiously longing glance at the corridor. Jeremy and Nightmare Moon shared a concerned look, watching the solar alicorn leave.

As Jeremy slid into the extremely plush, comfortable bed, he let out a relaxed sigh. “Now this is a bed,” he complimented, patting the space next to him for Chrysalis to join.

“Aren’t you going to open your suitcase?” Chrysalis asked.

Jeremy groaned in irritation – he’d just gotten into bed. “Fine…” he grumbled, legs swinging over the side as he reluctantly got right back up again.

Kneeling down, he unzipped his suitcase, unable to deny his own curiosity now that it was right in front of him. What would it contain? Items? Weapons? Clothing, hopefully? He flipped open the top.

To his surprise, it contained his old laptop, from back on Earth, as well as his phone and wallet. Pulling them out, he discovered the phone and laptop were both connected to some kind of USB charger, with no plug. Examining the charger, he found ‘Harmony Labs’ embossed into the side. He decided to ask Celestia about that one, and kept digging through the suitcase, Nightmare Moon picking up his wallet. Pleasantly, there were a few extra sets of clothes and pajamas in the suitcase, as well as what Jeremy recognized to be a box of his favorite cookies – fudge with chocolate, Oreo-like discs on the top and bottom. Jeremy’s eyes lit up as soon as he spotted them, and he lifted them out of the box with delight.

“Hey, remember these?” he asked.

Nightmare Moon instantly recognized them. “Thy favorite food!” she excitedly reminisced.

“What is that, anyway?” Chrysalis wondered.

“It’s a ‘cookie.’ Kind of like… uh… well, it’s delicious,” Jeremy tried to explain, opening the box and handing her one.

She put it in her mouth, chewing it curiously, and Jeremy could almost see the bomb of flavor go off as Chryssi’s eyes began watering. “So good…” she moaned.

Laughing, Jeremy passed the box to Nightmare Moon, who picked one up with her magic and took a bite out of it thoughtfully. “These taste… expensive,” she noted.

Jeremy shrugged. “Maybe. I dunno, my parents bought them for me occasionally, and I never figured out from where.” He took a cookie of his own, and slowly took a bite, savoring the taste all over again as memories of that time in Tartarus flashed before his eyes. It was one of the few good times he’d had down there, and these cookies were like a reminder of that. Which made him wonder – why had they been sent to him?

Once the box of cookies had been exhausted, he turned to his laptop, opening it and turning it on. “Is this a human computer? It’s so… small,” Nightmare noted curiously.

“And yet, it’s probably a thousand times as powerful as the ones down in Tartarus. Humans might not have any magic, but we got really good at computers,” Jeremy added. He signed in, his desktop opening to reveal a beautiful picture of a starry night sky.

“What a wonderful portrait!” Nightmare Moon admired.

Jeremy chuckled. “To be honest, I chose it because I needed a background that was mostly black – keeps it from draining the battery. Though, I did select a very pretty one.”

To his surprise, there were a few new programs on his desktop. One was labeled ‘Monitor,’ which he viewed with trepidation. Another was labeled ‘Menu,’ which he opened. To his shock, there on his computer screen was depicted the exact same menu he could open in the game, complete with strangely pixelated graphics.

“That’s…” Jeremy trailed off, noticing Nightmare Moon looking at him curiously.

“That’s what?” she asked.

“From a… a game… I used to play,” he answered, hating himself for stuttering.

Nightmare Moon looked at him strangely, but said nothing. He quickly closed the menu, feeling oddly self-conscious, and looked around for something else to do.

He noticed Chrysalis struggling with the phone, swiping her hoof across it again and again to no effect. “I can’t get it to do anything,” she whined.

“Huh,” Jeremy remarked, easily unlocking his phone for her. “Maybe it doesn’t respond to a hard shell, like your hoof?”

Nightmare Moon tried, and with some difficulty her hoof was able to open an app – Music. “This is a music player?” she queried in surprise, and Jeremy chuckled appreciatively.

“It’s actually a phone, for calling people. Though it also serves as a texting and messaging device, and can connect to the Internet and play games and music. Hence, it’s called a ‘smartphone,’” he explained.

Nightmare Moon looked down at the small rectangle in surprise. “Verily, this miniscule machine can perform all of that? Humans must be quite proficient engineers. How many gears does it have inside it?” she wondered.

Jeremy grinned. “Absolutely none,” he answered. “Last I checked, there are no moving parts.”

Nightmare Moon’s jaw dropped, and Jeremy burst out laughing, reveling in her expression.

“Now, if only I could use it,” Chrysalis grumbled.

“Heh… don’t worry, I’ll figure something out,” Jeremy consoled her. “Anyway… I think it’s time to go to bed.”

A few minutes later, he had finished brushing his teeth, Chrysalis trying it out for herself with the extra toothbrush and toothpaste provided.

“And… why, exactly, do I need to keep my teeth clean every night?” she wondered.

“Well, for those of us that eat physical food, it’s because remnants of that stick to our teeth, slowly corroding them over time. For you… I guess you don’t really have to. It does make one’s breath smell better, though,” Jeremy noted.

Chrysalis chuckled. “Agreed,” she ribbed.

They finally returned to the extremely comfortable bed, Chrysalis sighing in comfort at the silken sheets as Nightmare Moon took her usual position underneath them, wings holding them close as she tucked the three of them in.

“Last time I was in a bed like this, I was Cadance,” Chrysalis muttered, gazing up at the dark ceiling.

“How was that, by the way?” Jeremy asked curiously.

Chrysalis scoffed. “It was… so boring. I don’t know how Cadance stands being around other ponies day in and day out – they do nothing but gossip about utterly inconsequential matters and pretend to care about things.”

Nightmare Moon giggled. “Verily, that be the nobility of Equestria,” she agreed. With nothing else to say, the three of them drifted off to sleep in the others’ embrace.

You’re welcome, by the way, Chrysalis spoke up in his head.

For what? Jeremy wondered.

Distracting Nightmare Moon. I could tell she wanted to know about that menu. I’m assuming that’s the same one you see? she queried.

Yeah. I… I should really talk to her about it, if she’s going to be my platonic lover, Jeremy admitted.

Do it tomorrow, you’ll have plenty of time, Chrysalis soothed.

Yeah… just to make sure… Jeremy trailed off, opening the regular menu and SAVING. To his surprise, something new was listed on the invisible screen. “SAVE load count: 207” was written below the SAVE function, and “RESET count: 1” was written below the RESET function.

According to this… I’ve died two hundred and seven times, Jeremy informed Chrysalis.

Two hundred and seven?! Chrysalis mentally ‘shouted’ back, looking at him in shock.

Hey, hey! Calm down, it’s not that bad, Jeremy grumbled back.

I… I know. But I still wonder… if you ever died to me? Is there a statistic for that? Chrysalis sadly wondered.

…Not that I can tell. Seriously, don’t worry about it. It’s over, remember? We both won, and I don’t care how many times I had to lose to get here. Chrysalis, seemingly unable to respond, closed her eyes again. After a moment of silence, Jeremy followed suit, not quite able to sleep.

Some time later, he awoke in the middle of the night. Light was pouring in from the doorway, Celestia’s silhouetted frame standing in the torchlight.

“Oh! Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up,” she whispered, blushing.

“No problem. You need something?” Jeremy whispered back, rubbing his eyes.

“I… I was wondering… could you… will you…” Celestia tried, scuffing a hoof against the floor and looking away in embarrassment.

“Could I what?” Jeremy asked, lost.

“Could I… sleep with you? I can’t… I can’t sleep by myself,” she admitted, head drooping in shame.

“Oh. Okay, I think there should be room,” Jeremy allowed, motioning to a spot between himself and Chrysalis. Immediately, Celestia jumped into the bed, softly landing on Nightmare Moon as she replaced the covers and began cuddling up to the three of them.

“I hope this isn’t intruding…” she breathed nervously.

“Relax, Celestia. Nobody’s going to judge you for snuggles,” Jeremy dismissed, throwing an arm around her.