Life of a Wanted Changeling Season 4: At Luck's End (Comment Driven Story)

by BrownDog77

Episode 94: In Media Res

Reunited Opening:

Dark cold stone presses against your cheek and the sound of dripping water falling from the ceiling registers with your mind as you groggily come to consciousness.

“Oooohhhh…” you moan as the mother of all headaches beats in your skull. You try to lift your head, but it is a monumental chore. You feel completely and utterly drained of all energy.

“What…happened?” you manage to croak out as you force your eyelids open…and see darkened, crystalline walls.

“Where…?” you sigh as you try to get your hooves under you,

*Clink* *Clink*

But a frightening sound comes about from the movement. You slowly look down at your hooves. It takes a moment with your brain still misfiring, but eventually your mind registers the cold dark manacles chained to your legs.

“Wha…What? What is-*Cough* *Cough*” a coughing fit takes you, your throat feeling drier than the desert. You force your weakened form to struggle fruitlessly at the chains encasing all four of your limbs, but your strength just isn’t there. The fear and confusion over this predicament causes your eyes to flicker to your surroundings, and that is when you see them.

“Bars?” you gasp as your breath hitches in your throat. For indeed, in front of you, closing off the bare crystalline room are a row of bars with a locked gate right at it’s center. Your pupils shrink as you realize exactly where you are.

A dungeon cell.

“Why…? Why am I in…?” you sputter as you look all around you, trying to find answers from the uncaring stones. You don’t know how you got here, but the feelings of betrayal, loss and misery pierce your very soul. “They…but…Nightshade was…Nightshade!”

Your head whips around in panic, but there is no sign of your precious daughter.

“Nightshade! NIGHTSHA-“ you are cut off as you once more start to cough, your pitiful yell echoing down the corridor outside your cell. You gape, your mouth opening and closing like a fish as you try to process this impossible scenario.

Why? Why?! We’d won! We were setting everything right! We went to the meeting didn’t we?! We… you quit mid ramble as you realize you only vaguely recall the meeting. To get from that point to now, you have no idea what went wrong.

Selena! What happened?! How did we get like this?! you mentally shout as you weakly lift yourself to your hooves…but there is no answer. Selena I need you right now! What happened?

Once again, there is no answer.
“…Selena?” you say aloud in worry.

Even speaking aloud, there is no answer and fear runs down your spine.

Selena! You mentally shout as you sit back down and close your eyes, trying to project yourself into the mindscape like you’ve done so many times before…but it doesn’t work.

“What the buck?” you sputter as you shut your eyes tighter and try to enter it once again.

But nothing happens.

What’s going on?! Selena!!! You start to panic. Selena! Sombra! Sombra are you there?! I can’t enter the mindscape!

Just like with your mare in the moon, the fallen king does not answer.

Come on Sombra! Answer me! What’s going on?! Where are you two?! What is this?! you sputter as you squint your eyes so hard you start to see stars…but it’s like that doorway to your mindscape no longer exists.

Oh I get it, this is a nightmare right? I’m just dreaming of the worst case scenario, you begin to bargain as your breathing becomes more erratic. Well I’d sure like to wake up now! Selly please I want to wake up now! Please…? Selena…?

No amount of bargaining changes your predicament. Selena and Sombra do not answer you, and you still remain chained on the floor of the dungeon. You reach out and attempt to throw that switch to activate your cloak and tails…but that well of power, that mana source that’s been there for four years is gone.

You look at the chains surrounding you, thinking perhaps they are magic canceling or orichalcum or something spectacular…but they are just plain boring iron.

It’s at this moment that you accept a fact that is terrifying and gut wrenching.

They’re not there.

You are completely and utterly alone, both physically and mentally.

Tears start to fall as you lay your head back against the floor and weep as the shock of it all overwhelms you. It’s been four year since you’ve truly been alone…and it is suffocating.

“Selena, Nightshade, Sombra…where are you?” you croak in misery as you look up to your cold dark prison ceiling. You hold your hooves in front of your face, observing the chains. Plain metal chains though they may be, but that’s enough to stop a regular changeling.
You are powerless, and on top of that, your inventory is gone.

You. Have. Nothing.

“…Buck you Lady Luck,” you whimper as you bring your hooves to your eyes and weep.

‘-why do you curse Lady Luck?’ Twilight’s voice echoes within your mind and your eyes snap open.

“Twilight?” you ask aloud, but there’s no one there. Of course no one’s there, she’s not communicating with you now, this was earlier.

Earlier…you think with realization as that fateful meeting begins to playback in your mind. We all sat around and began to talk. We were talking, I remember! So…so how did it end up like this?

With that thought, the details start coming through to your hazy mind of the meeting that was long overdue.

Flashback

Puzzling Frost’s Comment

After conjuring Selena and Sombra to the table, everyling takes a moment to compose themselves to their presence. To Selena’s demand to start shooting off questions, Twilight of course is the first to respond.

"Alright first and foremost, why is that bad luck follows you everywhere you go and why do you curse Lady Luck?" she asks with full sincerity. You, Selena, Nightshade, Grandbuggy and Sombra all share a quick glance at that.

Really? That’s the first question she goes with? You think in bewilderment as she continues.

"You guys bring with you the largest amount of bad luck I have ever seen! Even Discord commented on how you all bring so much chaos with you. WHAT IS UP WITH THAT?!" She finishes her hair coming out of place in some parts. Everyone looks at her with wide eyes at her outburst before she takes a deep breath and puts her mane back in place. "Sorry it's just, I've been trying to figure that out for the past four years and I want answers."

Everyone seemingly agrees with that assessment, your side especially.

“I don’t really know Twilight,” you say truthfully and you notice in your peripheral Grandbuggy and Nightshade sharing a glance. “It’s just been something I picked up from Grandbuggy. Anytime anything would go wrong, we just curse Lady Luck. I don’t know why we’re so unlucky.”

“Are you sure? There has to be a reason!” she emphasizes. “Everypony has off days sure, but you’ve had so, so many.”

“Believe me, you’re preaching to the choir Princess,” you say with a roll of your eyes. “But really I don’t-“

“I’ll take it from here boyo,” Grandbuggy interrupts.

“Grandbuggy?” you question but he holds a hoof up to you and sighs.

“The reason why we’re all so unlucky is on me,” he admits and your eyes widen.

“What?” you say and he looks at you a bit guiltily before turning back to Twilight.

“How is your fault Mr. Fix?” Twilight asks curiously.

“Yeah, how?” you add just as fascinated, with Sombra and Selena paying rapt attention, but not Nightshade for some reason.

“I already told Nightshade about this, but the boy never heard it before. I kept it a secret for a long time,” he says with another sigh. You glance at Nightshade who rubs the back of her neck and doesn’t make eye contact with you.

“Oooohhhh, family secrets,” Pinkie Pie says excitedly as she pulls a bag of popcorn from literally nowhere.

“We’ve all been pretty vague about it, but in my youth, I was a time traveler, as well as a space traveler,” he says and Twilight’s eyes light up.

“Time and Space?” she asks as if she can’t comprehend the concept.

“Yeah that’s right,” he nods completely serious.

“Impossible! I mean, I’ve traveled through time briefly, but space travel is…that’s not…” she sputters just as the door opens and in walks Shining Armor.

“What’s impossible?” the unicorn asks as he shuts the door behind him.

“Space travel apparently,” Rainbow Dash informs and he raises an eyebrow.

“It ain’t impossible, ya’ll just don’t got the technology yet,” Grandbuggy huffs with a roll of the eyes.

“…I do recall Jack speaking about such subjects,” Luna ponders aloud and looks to her sister. “But I thought he was just telling wild stories.”

“You never can tell with that stallion,” Celestia sighs and shakes her head before looking at Shining Armor. “Speaking of, how fared the search?”

“My guards are still looking,” Shining says as he takes a seat next to Cadence. He takes a moment to glare at Sombra, before continuing his briefing. “But so far there’s been no sign of this Captain Jack stallion, or any other Black Suns for that matter.”

“Well there has to have been someone that took the heart off the pedestal,” Cadence points out, still holding onto said artifact.

“I know that Cady, but it’s just…quiet out there,” he says before shaking his head and looking to you. “Sorry for the interruption.”

“Nah it’s fine,” you hoofwave.

“It does sound rather odd…” Selena muses to herself. While she does, you turn back to Grandbuggy and demand,

“So what did you do when you were traveling in Time and Space to make us have bad luck?”

“Right, well, I won’t go into specifics about my long career galavanting about, but at one point I ran afoul of Lady Luck herself,” he says and everyone looks at him incredulously.

“…You ran afoul of Lady Luck? As in, like an actual person?” Twilight asks skeptically.

“Of course she’s real ya brainy nitwit,” he chides causing her to flinch. “She’s real and fuzzy and overly affectionate and I done pissed her off.”

“Wait, Mr. Fix,” Celestia cuts off, her eyes wide. “Are you saying you’ve been to the primordial realm of the gods?”

“Damn skippy,” he nods. “Let me tell you, there’s far too many colorful clouds there.”

Celestia and Luna share a look of shock as Twilight and Cadence become introspective.

“Wait a second, isn’t that the place I went to when I ascended?” Twilight questions.

“I was just about to say the same thing,” Cadence adds. “I remember a bunch of clouds in an endless void before Auntie Celestia showed up.”

“That is in fact the very same realm,” Celestia nods. “Luna and I are only semi-immortal though and can only walk that realm sparingly.”

“Well you can apparently, I never attempted it,” Luna says with a shudder. You look to Selena and she nods.

“Yes, we never did, despite wishing to speak with Father Time himself.”

Luna’s eyes widen at that as she glances at Selena, but before she can ask more on that, Grandbuggy coughs into his hoof.

“Yeah, yeah, it’s a real place! I got in there because mother nature was being more of bitch than usual, turns out it was a plot by the Master to drive her insane and have death take her which would end all of Equus and…” he trails off as he sees everyone looking at him in either confusion, or utter bewilderment. “…The point is, my friends and I stopped it, but during that whole process…I kind of got on Lady Luck’s bad side.”

“But how, old bug?! How?!” you demand and he winces.

“Okay, like, the other gods couldn’t really interact directly due to B.S. universal rules or whatever, but I kind of manipulated Lady Luck into giving us her favor so that we could get away with some of the stuff we pulled in that realm,” he says while rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. At this point, even Nightshade is paying close attention, and you guess that even she didn’t hear this much before.

“What did you do Grandbuggy?” she demands and he sighs.

“I…told her that I would stay devoted and love only her with every fiber of my being and never leave,” he says sheepishly.

Silence reigns in the room at that declaration, and Celestia, Luna and even Selena look mystified by that. Surprisingly, it’s Rarity that puts it all into perspective.

“Oh dear, you lied and broke a lady’s heart didn’t you?” she says sounding aghast and Grandbuggy nods, looking ashamed.

“Are you kidding me you old bug?!” you exclaim and he shakes his head.

“Look, I was a lady killer boyo, I couldn’t help my nature, but I had no interest in the gal and I never touched her, I just needed a tool to help the Doctor win is all,” he excuses.

“Doctor?” Twilight pipes up. “Doctor wh-“

“But yeah, when she tried to collect on my ‘promise’ she sort of got pissed that I lied. She got even more pissed when I revealed that I already had a fiancé that I loved, and the final nail in the coffin was leaving,” he explains.

“That’s why she cursed you?!” Nightshade exclaims. “You were vague before and made it sound like she did it for no reason Grandbuggy!”

“Look, can’t ya’ll see that it was disproportionate retribution cursing my entire family line over a little broken heart?” he defends and you all look at him sternly.

“A broken heart can lead to the downfall of entire nations Quick Fix!” Cadence the love expert chimes in.

“You stupid old bug, you slighted a primordial god. You’re lucky she didn’t smite you!” Selena scolds and he frowns.

“Oh she did little boogeymare, she most certainly did,” he growls suddenly serious.

“What do you mean?” asks Fluttershy and he sighs again.

“Because I went and had bad luck put upon me, the first thing that happened was that Orchard found out she was pregnant in a situation where the former queen, Chrysalis’s mother found out,” he spits and suddenly you realize where he’s going.

“Oh…” you say in understanding as you see Applejack’s jaw drop in shock.

“What’s that mean?” Twilight asks hesitantly and Grandbuggy grimaces.

“In the old days of the hive, having children with a pony or other creature was considered a serious security risk,” he says with regret. “So if a special operative like myself was discovered, we were forced to take care of it ourselves.”

“And that entailed?” Twilight asks and he frowns.

“Ya bring the child into the hive and you…handle the other parent discreetly. And let me tell you, some of the old crowd’s version of discreet was just plain…” He shakes his head in disgust and you pat his shoulder. “I chose the alternative, which was to put a geas on Orchard and erase all of our memories together after our daughter was born. I then walked out of her life and back to the Hive to keep her safe.”

Everyone goes from shock to sympathetic at his regretful tone.

“And so I raised our girl as best I could, she found love eventually and had the boy here…but the bad luck persisted down my line…”

“So…you’ve been cursing at the one who cursed you like a family motto then?” Sombra summarizes and he nods. “Ironic in a way.”

“More just spiteful,” he sighs and shakes his head. “But yeah, that’s why we’re so unlucky Princess, because of me. At one point I thought I could launch myself to the moon and die to end the curse…but that didn’t work out so well.”

They seem confused by that part, but you and your family know exactly what he means.

Grandbuggy was trying to end the curse…but the Doctor saved him and brought him to the future, you think before frowning and patting your Grandbugg on the back again. Buck you Lady Luck. Even if he did hurt you, just buck you.

Jayo Jack’s Comment

Loganic’s Comment

Kichi’s Comment

“I am sorry for your predicament Mr. Fix, though I don’t think there’s anything anyone on Equus can do to help you,” Celestia says and he nods.

“Yeah, I figured that out a long time ago Tia,” he says in defeat. “I’ve come to terms with it, but it don’t mean I have to like it.”

“But it does help to explain the frequency of our interactions,” she muses.

“Yeah…by a lot,” you nod as many events in your past have a new light upon them, as Luna speaks up,

“Also, with your tale, are we to assume that Bugze is part pony?” Luna questions.

“Yeah that’s correct,” you nod as you run your hoof through your spiky orange mane. “Part earth pony to be precise. It’s why I can’t feed on love like the other changelings…or fly.”

“Right, earlier while we were running through the tunnels you mentioned the of-Bugze was related to the Apples,” Celestia muses and everyone looks over to Applejack who blushes and looks down at her hooves, with you awkwardly doing the same.

“So is this Orchard the name of-“

“Yes, that’s my Granny!” she shrieks in embarrassment. Now that the threat of death isn’t over their heads, everyone on the other side of the table really start to comprehend what that means.

“So you literally kissed your cousin Applejack?” Rarity brings up the sore subject again, and you and her groan.

“We didn’t know at the time!” you both exclaim, avoiding everyone’s eye contact as Rainbow Dash laughs.

“Is…is that an issue?” Luna asks confused and you all stare at her. “What? A thousand years ago many royal families-“

“The times have changed Luna, it’s…frowned upon these days,” Celestia cuts her off as you and Applejack feel even more embarrassed.

“Yeah…” Applejack gulps before looking you in the eye. “Look Bugze…can we just never speak of that even ever again and just move on as normal kin?”

“Yes, please, I’m more than willing to forget the thing,” you nod enthusiastically. “And…having family doesn’t sound so bad.”

“Glad to hear that,” Pinkie giggles. “Because you’re also related to me!”

“…What?” you ask incredulously.

“Yup, yup, yup! I found out my family (probably) is related to the Apples, so that means you’re my cousin too (maybe).”

You and Selena gape at this before you turn to Nightshade who just shrugs.

“Yeah, that was something we found out when Cadence was going ship crazy a few months ago.”

“Hey! I wasn’t going crazy with it!” the alicorn defends but Nightshade continues.

“But yeah Dad, we’ve got a very, very complicated family tree. I know because we made one with art supplies, right cuz?” she boasts and Cadence nods.

“That we did little cousin,” she smirks and Celestia and Luna seem taken aback by this.

“Cousin?” Luna asks.

“That’s right,” Cadence says proudly.

“…On the field, you did call me Auntie,” Celestia realizes. “I thought you were being derogatory.”

“No, I was being serious,” she says with conviction. “Cadence is my cousin because she’s your niece, which also means she’s my mom’s niece.”

“Just wait a moment there, I know Celestia adopted her as a niece and in turn that makes her mine, but Night…your mother is not…” Luna sputters, looking back and forth between Nightshade and Selena.

“You and I can liberally be called siblings Luna,” Selena says with hardened eyes and the night princess winces. “We were one once, and we still share many memories even after we were separated… but we are our own beings.”

“But…I created you. My jealousy and-“

“Want of love led to my personality?” Selena finishes. “You’re only partially correct. Within you was the catalyst for me, but the dark forces that you tampered with are just as much a part of me. I remember your life, for it was also mine, but even then we were always two separate entities.”

“Separate, but still the same…” Luna sighs, remembering long unpleasant memories and Selena nods.

“It took me some time, but I’ve come to regard you and Celestia as my sisters because of these shared memories…even though we despise each other.”

Luna and Celestia flinch at that, and Selena looks away from them a bit more somber.

“So yes, that would make Cadenza my niece as well in a way. My daughter is correct.”

“That’s still so baffling to comprehend,” Twilight says scratching at her head. “I mean, what does that make me?”

“Pardon?” Selena asks.

“Shining married Cadence so does that mean he’s your nephew-in-law?” she asks as Shining’s eyes widen. “So since I’m his sister am I a niece-in-law

“Are…are those even a thing?” asks Rarity.

“I have no idea, it sounds complicated,” you say rubbing your temple.

“I guess you could say related by marriage possibly?” Cadence shrugs, not quite sure herself. “Which makes Bugze your Brother-in-Law aunties.” The two alicorn sisters pale at that and you just chuckle awkwardly.

“But, are you two even married?” Rainbow asks you and Selena and you both blush.

“Um…”

“Not yet,” she speaks up and you nearly sputter as she stares down the blue and yellow pegasi in the room who squirm. “Not by any legal ceremony at least, but that point is rather moot I should say.”

“Well hang on a second, that doesn’t make me related to Spike does it?!” Nightshade exclaims in worry which breaks the tension.

“Huh?” said dragon says.

“If Twilight’s mommy’s niece-in-law or whatever, that makes her my cousin-in-law, which makes you…something?” she tries to unravel and her head starts hurting too.

“Uh, well, I’m…not technically related to Twilight,” Spike says scratching at his ear fin.

“Yeah, you’ve always said it was complicated,” you point out and he nods.

“Yeah, what exactly are you two anyway?” Fluttershy broaches and Twilight and Spike look at each other awkwardly.

“Well, I don’t see her as my mom, even though she did hatch me,” he starts.

“Yes, I was just a little filly when that happened,” Twilight points out.

“I helped watch over him when he was younger, but I allowed Twilight’s parents to help look after him as well as he grew up,” Celestia points out.

“Yeah, so Celestia and Velvet feel kind of like my moms,” Spike nods. “And…I always wanted to be apart of Shining and Twilight’s little sibling competitions, but they never included me…”

Both Shining and Twilight wince at that.

“Hey now buddy, you were too young for those competitions,” Shining reassures. “I mean, I always thought of you as a little brother.”

“Yes Spike, we never meant to exclude you,” Twilight adds as she puts her hoof around the dragon.

“So…kind of siblings even though I was never adopted?” Spike guesses.

“…I guess if you wanted to label it sure,” Twilight nods and hugs the dragon.

“So if you’re honorary brother and sister, does that mean we’re also cousin-in-laws Spike?” Nightshade gasps worriedly and the dragon himself looks worried suddenly.

“It’s a bond through marriage that isn’t even a part of the main tree Nightshade,” Cadence clarifies in a calming tone before smirking. “So don’t worry, it won’t affect any future plans you have."

Nightshade sighs in relief, before going red in the face.

“What plans? I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she lies and looks away. You then scowl at Cadence who gives you a goofy grin and giggles.

I hope to the gods she didn’t hear my slip to Spike on the field, you think paranoid as you make eye contact with the drake…and both of you immediately look away, finding the ceiling to be much more interesting.

“Okay, with all this weird pseudo-relationship talk we got going, could you say that the girls and I could be Nightshade’s Grandmas?” Pinkie hypothesizes.

“Say what now?” Selena asks as you all look at the pink psycho.

“We did separate you and Luna with the Elements, making you sisters, so that means we birthed you into the world right?” Pinkie points out before her eyes widen in shock. “Oh gods! I’m too young to be a mother!”

There is a moment of silence as everyone tries to comprehend that before Selena just says,

“No.”

“But-“

“That’s not how that works, that’s not how any of this works,” Sombra facehooves, getting a headache himself.

“Accepting this strange twisted web of relations is tricky enough already Pinkie Pie, let’s not muddy it any further,” Luna commands and Pinkie Pie huff and crosses her arms.

“Fine! Excuse me for trying to make everyone else family,” she grumbles.

Ponygamer12’s Comment

Dklett’s Comment

Jayo Jack’s Comment

“Speaking of which, we are sooooo going to have a long overdue ‘Welcome to Ponyville and Thanks For Being a Hero Party when we get back home!” she scolds looking you directly in the eye. “You can’t weasel your way out of this one!”

“Oh I’m sorry, we probably could have gotten to it sooner if you girls hadn’t been trying to maul me to shreds Day One!” you counter back gruffly…and of course the mood shifts due to your crassness. All of the Elements look down guiltily at that.

“Sorry, it’s just…that’s what happened,” you shrug and look at all of them. “I guess I had a curse sustaining all the misunderstandings, but you all did hunt me for four years and tried to use the Elements on me, Selena and now Sombra.”

“Yes, we did…we were misguided sure but…I’m sorry,” Twilight starts and the rest apologize as well.

“Thank you,” you nod and look at Selena and Sombra. “But yeah, I’m just glad those death lasers are finally gone. We’ve come too far to die now.”

“D-Die?” Twilight gasps.

“Yes, die,” you say firmly.

“The Elements wouldn’t have killed you,” Celestia starts. “They purify darkness and-“

“Selena and Sombra are darkness. You nearly killed her the first time when she and Luna were separated,” you interrupt and the girls all look at each other nervously, Fluttershy looking especially guilty.

“Indeed,” Selena agrees. “The pain was the most excruciating I’ve ever felt in my life.”

“But wait, doesn’t that just defeat the meaning and purpose of Harmony itself?” Applejack points out. “I mean, why would they kill?”

“I don’t know, seems hypocritical to me,” you shrug and Twilight purses her lips.

“If you want to get technical, the Elements themselves didn’t actually kill Ni…ghtmare Moon,” she trails off before finishing.

“No, but I was left vulnerable and defenseless and left to die all the same,” Selena huffs, still upset at the memory.

“What do you mean by that?” Luna asks taken aback and Selena looks her right in the eye.

“I still existed, clinging to our broken armor. And while you were hugged and left all merrily with these mares, I was left beaten and broken, barely existing within that castle,” she growls and there is a flicker of guilt that washes over Luna. “If it hadn’t been for Bugze…I would not be here now.”

“Yeah, bet you feel stupid now huh?” Nightshade adds and leans closer to her mother’s projection. At your filly’s words, all the Elements and Princesses do share a look of guilt, but they soon look back.

“We’re sorry again, but considering our history…” Twilight begins and Selena nods.

“I know…”

Seeing as how the mood has gone down, you cough and take center stage again.

“But it’s precisely because of that history that things have got to change for the better,” you announce. “I told you all on the field to forgive Selena and Sombra, and I still stand by that. Because even though we do have this rocky history with you, they’ve changed for the better.”

“You say that, and we’re willing to hear you out Bugze,” Celestia says calmly. “But as you said, our history is rocky.”

“Then I’ll just be straight up honest with you all, since apparently that runs through my blood,” you smirk. “I’m getting both of them out of my head and into bodies of their own.”

“What?!” Celestia, Luna, Twilight, Rarity, Rainbow and Shining exclaim, though the rest seem to be in the know, especially Cadence.

“That’s right, they’ve been living in my head far too long and it’s time they were set free,” you declare and both your skullmates smile at that.

“Wait, wait, hold on!” Twilight holds her hoof out. “What you’re suggesting is high level transmutation that hasn’t even been attempted yet! How in the world are you going to pull this off?”

“Simple Ms. Twilight,” Nightshade speaks up. “We’ll use the artifacts we gathered.”

“Huh?”

“What, you thought the boy was gone for all this time because he was on vacation? Nah, he was looking for them Siren stones in the human world,” Grandbuggy explains. “And meanwhile, me and the kiddo were gathering the rest.”

“Hold on a second, what artifacts? Also you went to the human world where Twilight went?” Celestia questions.

“Yeah…it was terrible. But I found the Dazzlings that Starswirl Banished, turns out time is weird over there, and I brought them home where they helped save you,” you explain. “But yeah, Jack is going to build us some device using them to get them out of my head.”

“Precisely,” Sombra nods. “And once we’re free, the shadow and the roach can do whatever they want with each other while I figure out how to get the Amulet out of Nightshade.”

“I’d forgotten about the Amulet,” Shining says looking at Nightshade sympathetically, but then he shakes his head. “And look, if you’re serious about getting them bodies, doing so in the Empire doesn’t sound like a good idea. That bastard stabbed me remember?”

“Yes, yes I did,” Sombra nods, not even pretending to deny it. “And there’s nothing I can say that will make that right.”

“You got that right,” Shining glares back at the king.

“But no matter where I am released, I will still help Nightshade.”

“How’d that amulet get inside her in the first place?” Luna asks.

“Better yet, how did either of these two end up in your head?” Celestia questions.

“Wait, they don’t know the full story?” you ask Nightshade.

“I only told the CMC, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy what I knew,” she shrugs and you sigh.

“Oh, so you guys are missing a lot of info then,” you say in realization.

“Yeah, I guess we were getting side tracked by plans of the future that we forgot to address the past, well, the more immediate past,” she corrects looking to Grandbuggy.

“That tends to happen around my lot,” he shrugs.

“But he’s right everypony, we should hear everything sequentially. I’m dying to speak more about the Amulet and the Black Suns and their inevitable trial and high level transmutation…but we’ve got to get a clearer picture first,” she explains and everyone at the table nods at that.

Haryou Changer’s Comment

Kichi’s Comment

Jayo Jack’s Comment

“Um, alright,” you say scratching the back of your neck. “How do you want me to paint that picture? Bullet points?”

"Let's go through everything that has happened since four years ago when you first appeared at Ponyville after the Changeling Invasion at Canterlot. We'll do this chronologically, in simpler terms, following everything that happened one after another in time." She says, explaining the last bit when you, Nightshade, and Rainbow Dash all started tilting your heads in confusion from the big word she just used. "Actually, let's start with the before. We know who King Sombra and Ni- I mean Selena is, and we know a bit about your family from Quick Fix, but who are you exactly Bugze?"

“Wait, so you want my entire life’s story?” you ask and she nods.

“Just the important parts, but yes.”

“There’s a lot of them though…and putting it into words will take a bit. I mean, I know I had practice with the human versions of you, but still, it’s a long tale. And…wanting to know who I am?” you flounder as your tongue feels tied and your mouth dry. You don’t want to leave out anything so that they can understand your quest to save Selena and Sombra.

“I…” you start but trail off as you see Twilight hold up a quill and paper. “You asked who I was? Well, the answer’s not simple. Sometimes I wonder who I really am, because the me I was before the Wedding wouldn’t recognize the me today.”

You watch as she writes all of that down and you chuckle.

“I hope you have a lot of paper because this story is long and at times meandering. It’s a tale about me and those I’ve encountered along the way. It’s…” you trail off again and Nightshade puts her hoof on yours.

“When I told my friends, I called it The Life Of A Wanted Changeling,” she says.

“Ooohhh, good title,” Twilight says as she writes that down. You look at your precious daughter and she smiles expectantly at you.

“…You know what, that’s a pretty good name for this period in my life,” you say truthfully before ruffling her mane. “A wanted changeling huh? Ironic since for the longest time, noling wanted me.”

The mares, Shining and Spike all look at you sympathetically at that, but you continue.

“Grandbuggy could probably give you a more accurate tale of my early childhood since I’ve forgotten a bit of it, but for the most part I was a regular drone in the changeling hive…or as normal as one who’s dancing from the strings of Lady Luck can be…”

You then begin to tell them all of your earliest memories. The few years you knew your parents, growing up under Grandbuggy…and Chrysalis. They all sympathize with your betrayal from your first love, Shining and Cadence especially wanting to beat the bitch, especially after you tell them about the prom.

Selena seethes quietly hearing this tale again, and under her breath vows vengeance upon the mare that broke your heart.

Everyone else soon finds out that that isn’t hyperbole either. She quite literally broke your heart during the events of the Canterlot Wedding which kick started this whole tale…

The Present

It started out in a dungeon cell, and now it ends in one? You think in melancholy. Your tears still falling, you drag your miserable form to a puddle of water formed from the dripping roof. It’s old and dusty tasting, but it brings moisture back to your parched throat.

You take a moment and look at your reflection in the puddle. Despite everything, it’s still you; same orange spiky hair, same lost and broken expression, same sad, sorrowful eyes. You are even still wearing the mismatch outfit you put together when walking onto the field, the one made up of all your different personas. All of them different, yet all of them still fundamentally you.

Is this how Cadence felt before I fed her? You wonder as you stare into the reflective surface. Scared, confused and alone?

You sigh as you put your hooves into the puddle, disrupting your image.

Well to Tartarus with that! There’s no way Cadence would let them put me in here right? She wouldn’t do that! There’s gotta be something I’m missing! You think resolutely as you attempt to stand up. Once more, you are hit with just how weak you feel, as if you’d been a great big hot air balloon that suddenly loss all it’s mass.

They…they couldn’t have hit me with the Elements right? Nightshade said they were in some tree. It’s not possible…right? You ponder, and pray that it isn’t so, because if it is then Selena and Sombra are…

You shake your head from these thoughts as you grit your teeth and force yourself to stand up, leaning against your prison bars.

I’ve gotta get my bearings. I’ve gotta find Nightshade. I’ve got to figure out what happened! I’ve-

“WAAHH-Oomph!” you grunt as the cell door you were leaning on swings outward causing you to fall face first onto the floor outside your cell.

Groaning, you look up from your prone position back into your cell room through the open door, confirming that that indeed just happened.

“Wait, so they chained me up but didn’t even lock the door?” you ponder aloud and look both ways down the empty corridor. You can’t see too far into the darkness, but there are other cells aside from yours stretching down both ways.

“Either someone bucked up royally…or someone’s trying to help me,” you theorize as you force yourself back to your hooves. “Well if it’s the latter, they could have at least given me the keys!”

Looking left and right, you ultimately decide to head right at random, shuffling along the wall with what limited movement your chained hooves can give you.

It is just like at the Canterlot dungeons when I helped Cadence…maybe she did this? you wonder as you think more about the meeting where you told your life’s story.

Flashback

“Wait a second, hold up, what do you mean she killed you?!” Cadence exclaims slamming her hooves onto the table and you sigh.

“It’s just as I said Cadence. After I fed you, Chrysalis got really angry and blasted me. My heart got damaged and I died. It’s why a lot of my life was fuzzy for so long, because of the brain damage,” you respond simply as Grandbuggy, Nightshade and Selena all grit their teeth having to hear this detail again.

The others of course are all very shocked to hear of your demise.

“But…you’re still here?” Shining broaches the obvious and you nod.

“Yeah, again that’s because of Chrysalis,” you sigh. “I guess some part of her felt guilty over the friendship we once had, so she brought me back to life by fusing an artifact onto my heart to get it pumping again.”

They all take that info again before Celestia asks,

“And which artifact was that?” To that, Selena looks right at Luna.

“The Nightmare Jewell,” she answers plainly and both sisters gasp.

“I…I thought it’d been destroyed,” Luna asks of her sister who winces.

“No Luna, I hadn’t destroyed it. I’d kept it in the vault because it had been something you created…I couldn’t destroy it,” she admits with a sigh. “But after the invasion, I thought it’d been lost to Chrysalis’s machinations…and I was right I suppose.”

“So wait, there’s some sort of ancient jewelry thingie that’s powering his heart now?” Twilight asks and Selena nods.

“Yes, though it was meant more as a weapon,” she admits and Luna reluctantly nods.

“We made it when we were one after all…”

“Right, well that’s why I’m still alive and everything,” you interrupt before more bad tension arises between the two. “But yeah, Chrysalis brought me back with it, and because of that, that’s how Selena was able to get in my head.”

They all await further explanation, but you don’t say anything immediately, but then Twilight figures it out as she gasps,

“Ohhhh, when we chased you into the Castle of the Two Sisters! If she was still there then she sensed her own power and…”

“Correct,” Selena nods at her assessment. “So it’s the one thing I will give that hussy credit for. It allowed for me to ultimately meet my Bug, and change my life for the better.”

“Awww,” Rarity coos at that display of affection, but then Selena’s eyes fill with righteous fury.

“But for all the other things she’s done to him, if given the chance I will crush her into paste!” she says vengefully.

“Buck Yeah!” Shining Armor cheers in response to that. When you all look to him, he just puts his hooves on his hips.

“What? That slut deserves it,” he says.

“Damn right she does,” Cadence nods.

“Yeah, well she’s stuck in her prison so we don’t really have to do that,” you point out before they all suck in their breath awkwardly. “…What was that response?”

“Oh yeah, Chrysalis and the changelings escaped while you were gone Daddy,” Nightshade points out.

“WHAT?!!!” you exclaim.

“It’s true, it happened a few months ago,” Twilight sighs. “Some sort of mechanism smashed a hole in the wall and helped her escape.”

“Oh that’s just great!” you throw your hooves up in indignation. “And let me guess, no heads or tails of them?”

“Nope,” Grandbuggy shakes his head. “My guess is they’re out in the badlands, probably rebuilding the Hive.”

“Well that’s just perfect!” you grumble and start to seethe.

“It is…because if she comes for you again, I can enact my promise upon her,” Selena says sounding somewhat giddy.

“I’ll help you with that,” Cadence offers.

“Me too,” Shining nods.

“Me three!” Nightshade says jubilantly.

“…I’ve never met this witch, but I suppose I’d help as well,” Sombra shrugs and you roll your eyes.

“Well, let’s hope it won’t come to that any time soon. We all need a break after the Battle of the Bands and fighting Flag Burner,” you point out.

“Future vengeance aside, I believe we’re glossing over something important,” Celestia says.

“We are?” you ask and she nods.

“Yes, you say from your own lips that you are the one who saved Cadence during the invasion?”

“Uh, yeah,” you say simply.

"Yes, I told you this a million times aunties!" Cadence huffs. "You never listened!"

"We did listen dear Cadence... But I suppose we never truly gave it the recognition it deserved,” she admits in shame.

“Yes, with all the four years of conflict, we willingly ignored that factor as a fluke…and that was a mistake,” Luna admits.

“But you did in fact save my family, and for that we are even more in your debt," Celestia says as once more she and her sister bow their heads to you.

"Please, don't bow, I bu…I hate that," you try to dissuade without swearing, trying to be polite. "I mean it does feel really good, but..."

“It is quite literally the least we can do for right now Bugze,” Celestia admits.

“In the future, we will compensate appropriately, but for now, this is what we can give you,” Luna adds and you sigh.

"And I get that, really I do, but it still makes me feel off. There isn't anyone lower than another being and no one should bow to another. Whether you're strong or weak, if you're a Princess, King, Lord of Chaos, Queen, a Nightmare, or any kind of immortal, we're all able to bleed and die the same." They all look back at you after that profound statement in surprise.

You close your eyes.

"Me and Selena realized that long ago when we watched it happen with our very eyes."

"What do you mean? Who's death did you witness?" Luna asks at the trepidation in your voice and you give her a solemn look.

"Everyone," you answer without going into more detail. Celestia gives Twilight a look, then turns back at you.

"Please elaborate."

"I will, just after everything else has been properly explained. It's a very long tale within this long tale that you may never want to hear. Let's wait until the end,” you urge and they all hear the sincerity in your tone.

"In that case," Cadence continues, "Let’s go back to when you first met Selena."

“Well, met isn’t so much the word for it,” Selena admits. “I just sort of used what magic I had left to make him see my scrapped armor as pristine, he touched it and I jumped into his body.”

“Yeah, I actually didn’t really meet her properly till like a year later,” you explain. “I actually met Nightshade first.”

“Huh?” Fluttershy questions.

“I spoke to him off and on while I was still weakened, but yes we weren’t fully acquainted till the following year’s Nightmare Night.”

“…How do you go for so long without properly talking with someone in your head?!” Applejack asks befuddled.

“Hey, during my first year I was floundering and running around. I called her the Dark Female Voice and left it at that,” you excuse.

“I don’t really blame him, for that’s all I was to him for the longest time,” she adds a little solemnly.

“…I guess I could have asked a few more questions instead of not at all,” you say sheepishly. “But on the other hoof, I had my hooves full with Nightshade.”

“Was I really that hard to look after?” you filly asks innocently. “All I did in the early days was sleep and eat for the most part.”

“Yes, but your portions were enough for like a whole guard squad!” you exclaim and she puffs her cheeks in embarrassment and looks away.

“Not like I was getting fat or anything,” she pouts.

You then go on to describe the various misadventures you had during that first year, such as the Diamond Dogs, first running into Luna, and of course the first Trixie incident. You apologize for the harm you did, and in turn they do as well. After all, it’s not the last time you all would battle.

“By the way, how are you able to use the Royal Canterlot Voice when you shout at us?” Twilight questions before looking to Selena. “Is that something you gave him?”

“I didn’t give him that, he quite literally found that one on his own,” she explains.

“How?”

“I found a book in the castle that was like a self help guide on how to use it,” you say having long forgotten about that item.

“Ah, so that’s where that went,” Celestia muses and frowns. “You know, many of my missing possessions somehow seem to end up in your Inventory your mysterious friend sent.”

“Oh don’t get me started on that guy…whoever he is,” you scowl. “He keeps giving me stuff and pointing me in directions that always seem to turn out bad and on top of that he’s the one who gave Nightshade the amulet in the first place.”

They all take that info in and you sigh,

“I have no clue who they are, but I’m thinking I’m about done with them. But we’ll get to them later. Now, where was I?”

"The Grand Galloping Gala..." Twilight says anxiously and you nod.

"Right, so I just went there just because I wanted to see Cadence and I thought I could get away with it because it was a big party and everything."

"I remember that day well," Cadence says in nostalgia. "It was so amazing seeing you again."

"Same here," You say with a happy nod. "And that was also the first time I used the name 'El Hunko', when I met Spike for the first time."

"Oh, right! That was you!" Spike says in remembrance.

"He was feeling down, and he offered to get some doughnuts at Joe's, a really good place by the way, still gotta take you up on that offer.”

“When next in Canterlot,” he agrees.

“But yeah, I met with Cadence again, but then Shining entered the room we were in, I was forced to retreat, and I had to pick up my daughter who I thought was in the middle of a meal. But... when I saw Nightshade, Prince Blueballs was threatening her."

Celestia sheepishly sucks in her teeth.

"You all know how overprotective of her I am by now, so you know how our fight started and how it ended."

“He really wasn’t gonna be able to do much to me Daddy. The most he did was blow our cover,” Nightshade points out and you roll your eyes.

“Yeah, I know that with hindsight honey, but at the time I was still floundering around trying to figure out how to raise you and everything,” you argue and she in turn rolls her eyes.

“Well he got taken out pretty easily when ya kicked him in the nards. That’s when I decided to make it one of my signature moves,” she boasts and a few at the table snicker.

“Oh my yes, you did in fact destroy his gonads if rumors are to be believed,” Rarity giggles. “I for one compliment you on that Bugze.”

“Yeah…parental instinct is a dangerous thing in many animals, so it’s no surprise you went off on him,” Fluttershy agrees.

“I wish I could defend him, but his attitude is always been that way,” Celestia sighs. “And this last year his grounding has seemed to improve him slightly. He’s taken up dancing as a hobby and focusing on little else.”

“Ha!” Grandbuggy and Nightshade laugh at the same time and you all look to them.

“He’s still mad because we totally schooled him in our dance off at that restaurant,” Nightshade brags.

“Dance off?” you question but Grandbuggy waves you off.

“Well get to that boyo, but let’s just say that stuck up twink got served.”

“Ooookaaay…” you say feeling slightly disturbed before turning to the others. “But yeah, I decked him in the balls, and then we…well…”

"You started to go crazy and wrecking the place," Rainbow finishes and you nod.

“Yeah…”

"I’ve got to ask, why did you do that? I always thought it was…her," Fluttershy asks pointing to Selena. "But with everything else that’s happened was there some other reason?"

"Actually that one was really my doing," Selena admits and some gasps are heard.

“Oh…” Fluttershy says feeling blindsided.

“But that’s not to say that every time I’ve rampaged was her fault,” you reassure with a nervous chuckle.

“Yes, not every time, but that being said,” Selena continues and looks directly at Luna. "At that time, during the Gala, I was still the same being you thought I was. All I desired was revenge, and to rule over the lands. I urged Bugze to destroy you, and used my powers to push him to near madness before assuming direct control.”

Luna scowls a bit at that.

“So you admit it?” she asks sternly.

“Yes Luna, I admit it,” she says with no hyperbole. “I wanted vengeance for being left broken and dying, I wanted vengeance against Celestia for the same reasons we did a thousand years ago, and I wanted vengeance on you most of all for abandoning me…”

She takes a deep breath as Nightshade tries to put a hoof on hers, causing it to faze through the projection.

“So yes, I admit it. Lying at this point is all but folly,” she says before shaking her head. “I hurt you all, and it’s only because Bugze’s will was far superior than I had imagined that he was able to take back control.”

“Oh, so…I actually did help snap him out of it?” Fluttershy asks with a bit of pride.

“Yes…” Selena admits reluctantly. “It’s one of the few times you were right about me. And without you I might have succeeded…you have my thanks for that yellow pegasus.”

Fluttershy looks shocked and surprised to hear Selena thanking her and looks between you and her. You give her a comforting smile of encouragement and she gulps before turning back to the dark alicorn.

“Y-You’re welcome. And, uh, my name is Fluttershy by the way…”

“I know,” Selena says simply.

“Oh, uh…okay…” Fluttershy trails off as the mares look away from each other again.

"But that's all in the past now, Selena has now long since changed,” you defend to everyone before things get awkward again. “After I took back control, the fight ended and we went our separate ways.”

"I should say so, we didn’t see you for like a long time after that,” Pinkie Pie says.

"That's because..." You smile and look over to Applejack. "I was living in Applelossa."

"Wait? Really?" Applejack asks and you nod.

"Braeburn is one good friend, I'll tell you that much…and I guess now I know he’s also good family."

“I still can’t wait to see his face when we tell him that,” Nightshade giggles and you smirk.

You then go into a little detail about some of the townspeople, and how you worked as a fixer with duct tape and WD-40, erasing any doubt in her mind that you were actually there.

"And they managed to keep me hidden from the public. Well, until..." You trail off, thinking about the otherworld before shaking it off.

Save it for the end Bugze, you think to yourself.

"Until Discord returned, correct?" Celestia asks and you nod.

You then explain how you got involved and how you even helped them but how Discord rewrote all of their memories, leaving only Zecora and Fluttershy

“Last year, he undid that spell on my request,” Fluttershy interjects.

“Yeah, that was weird remembering something after you’d remembered it another way,” Rainbow Dash says.

“It was certainly strange getting our memories back,” Twilight admits with a frown. “It also led to some confliction on your actions…”

“By that point we’d already deemed your other crimes as more pertinent than your fight with Discord,” Celestia admits and you frown.

“And then when she was revealed last year…the blame was shifted again,” Luna says pointing at Selena.

“Still would have been nice to have some recognition for fighting that turd, he plays dirty,” you harrumph.

“That’s how the powers of chaos work boy, always frustrating, especially in the claws of a nutjob.”

“Hey now, he’s not so bad…” Fluttershy defends before coughing into her hoof. “He has gotten much better.”

“Yeah, he is capable of being nice and not being as big a jerk as he could be,” Nightshade admits and you look at her incredulously.

“Et Tu Shade?”

“Hey, he tried to take the amulet out of me without anyling asking him too. It didn’t work because Chaos and Umbrum magic don’t go well together, but he still tried!”

“That does track,” Sombra agrees. “Chaos cannot find purchase on magic created from the realm between worlds.”

“Right…” Cadence says disturbed before looking to you. “But he has gotten better Bugze, he even helped me understand your history within seconds with a mind milkshake. He’s still a pain for sure, but he’s doing better.”

“Yeah, exactly. Plus he’s still sick and needs lots of care and attention,” Fluttershy says protectively and you sigh.

“Alright, if you all say so, but I still hold a grudge,” you tell them frankly.

“I will give him one thing though, it’s because of his reckless actions that I started to change,” Selena admits. “If not for him, I wouldn’t have realized how much I truly cared for Nightshade as well.”

“It was a whole bunch right?” Nightshade asks expectantly and Selena smiles.

“Yes my precious, it was a whole bunch indeed.”

“Ha ha! I knew it!” she boasts over the motherly affection which causes Cadence to coo.

"So after Discord, what made you start living in Ponyville instead of going back to Appleloosa?" Twilight asks, bringing things back on track. "I'm really glad you did, we all became great friends, and I think if you never got to know us as Mr. Tennant we wouldn't have gotten to this point any time soon, but it seems counter intuitive to have stayed in town."

"Well, you see. There's someone called The Doctor,” you start.

“You’ve mentioned that before. Doctor Who?” Twilight asks and you point at her.

“Exactly!”

“Huh?”

“Alright, so you know that Trottingham show about the Time Traveling alien fighting other aliens and stuff in a big blue box?”

“Wait, wait, are you talking about Doctor Whooves?” Shining says in shock.

“Yup, the one and the same.”

“I love that show! It’s been on for like fifty years, and he’s got different regenerations and…” he trails off while everyone stares at him questioningly. “Nevermind, it’s a good show. But are you trying to claim that he’s real?”

“Yup, and he’s the reason I was staying in Ponyville. To “Work off a Debt” Nightshade supposedly garnered after eating a lot, but turns out that was just an excuse of his.”

“A TV show character made you stay in town?” Twilight questions skeptically.

“Oh come on girly, you’ve met Ahuizotl and Daring Do, you gonna question the Doc?” Grandbuggy scolds and her ears wilt.

“Oh, I guess you got a point there,” she says.

“Yeah, and since we’re talking about the Doc, he’s the reason I was a Time and Space traveler. I could give you more details later, but let’s just say he’s most certainly real and flying around.”

“Jack always did talk about a Doctor…” Celestia says putting a hoof to her chin.

“Well there you go,” you point out. “But yeah, through the Doctor’s machinations, I was staying in Ponyville undercover, and he put a Geas on me to make you all not suspect it.”

You then start to go into your time living with them, and how awkward it got when so many mares started paying attention to you. Cadence even goes into detail of how the Lover’s Jewell Necklace works and how it amplified all of the traits the mares found inherently attractive.

“So that’s how that thing works?” you sputter looking to her and she nods.

“Oh gods, no wonder you got all awkward when I tried to hand it off to you,” you realize and she chuckles at that memory.

“He tried to do what now?” Shining says suddenly alert.

“He didn’t know Shiny, calm down,” the pink alicorn reassures her husband with a laugh. “But yes, it amplifies your best qualities in their eyes, but in the presence of true love it will always glow.” She says that last part while looking directly at Selena who blushes and looks away, but you’re too focused on all the other times the many mares had swarmed you to notice.

“I always thought it was weird that things were going like a harem anime,” you say with understanding. Fluttershy, Applejack and Rainbow Dash then blush and think about all the times they were...aggressively pursuing you.

"I always thought the devotion to family was Tennant's best feature," Applejack admits.

"And how over the top and kick flank he was..." Rainbow Dash mutters.

"For Hoody I..." Fluttershy trails off and avoids eye contact with everyone, which causes Cadence to lean over to her.

"Got a thing for powerful bad boys?" she asks with a smirk and Fluttershy flushes even more. "Thought so. And I'm sure many of those other mares like those musicians and masseuse were attracted to a single aspect of you."

"Ha, Aloe is just thirsty in general," Rarity gossips.

"Heh hehe, well at least I know there's a reason for the chase," you chuckle nervously, giving a side glance to Selena before your eyes lighten up. “Hey Twilight, is that why you pinned me down on the ground that one time with that creepy as Tartarus violating look on your face?”

“Wh-What?!” she exclaims as all eyes suddenly turn towards her. “What are you talking about?”

“It was that day the sun was acting funny like a clock and you were all nuts and wandering towards the CMC weirdly, and then everyone went nuts for that doll?”

“Oh, OH! No, no, no that was just me…being me,” she explains with a nervous chuckle. “Don’t take this the wrong way Bugze, but I’ve never been attracted to you.”

“Oh thank goodness,” you sigh in relief.

“…You know your relief at that still feels hurtful,” Twilight grumbles.

“Well at least that’s a misunderstanding cleared up,” Selena says. “Because if anyone tries to violate my bug, I can’t promise what limbs will be torn off and which ones will remain.”

Twilight gulps at that, while Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy all laugh awkwardly for obvious reasons, causing the alicorn to give them another glare.

You all then get back on track as you go over more of your days in town, right up until Fillydelphia.

"I remember clearly the day you left for Fillydelphia." Rarity says. "We all thought you were going to end your own life, and we followed you on the train."

Everyone looks at her.

"What?" She says. "No need to sugarcoat things!"

"I remember that day too," Applejack nods. "You told us that you're real name wasn't B.S.T and you were under some sort of witness protection. Turns out you didn't lie about that after all."

"But I did lie about going to see 'extended family,’” you point out. "Instead, you all saw what happened in the newspaper."

"Turns out the newspaper lied as well. It said ya killed somepony,” Applejack responds, a smile still on her face. "Now that's a lie I can stand behind."

You give a smile back in gratitude.

“Yeah, well we’ve only just realized it’s a lie. For the last two years, it’s sure felt real…”

You then go into detail of your battle in Fillydelphia against Flag Burner.

“I remember I was helping with the Hearth’s Warming Eve play,” Nightshade nods. “But I kind of wish I’d gone with you. That guy wouldn’t have been able to threaten me and get you mad in the first place.”

"So that's what he said to make you so angry," Shining says in realization and you nod.

“Still didn’t make what I did right, but he said he sent stallions to Ponyville to get to her and then blew up all those buildings and I lost it. Selena had nothing to do with it, that was all on me.”

You then move on from that subject, that despite your redemption is still a sore subject.

“Selena and I came to a better understanding after those events,” you start and she continues.

“Things had been rocky between us since before Nightmare Night…we’d made some progress with myself choosing a new name based off of Batmane’s thieving love interest, but after Fillydelphia, things started to get…friendlier,” she says choosing the word after a moment.

“She named herself after Catmare?” Shining whispers to his wife, but you ignore him and continue.

“Yeah, we stopped working against one another and starting actually opening up and confiding little by little since we both knew we loved Nightshade. I think it was for the best,” you say smiling at her and she gives you a lid eyed smirk back.

“Definitely for the better,” she all but purrs and your heart skips a beat and the mares across the table twiddle their hooves awkwardly.

“Bugze,” Luna interrupts and you twitch towards her.

“Y-yes?” you stutter.

"You said she and you had started to bond over the care for her daughter," she inquires. "I would be lying if I said I once thought she never did, but that brings the question; Where did your filly come from?"

Yours and Selena’s eyes sink at that question and you nervously glance at each other.

“Uh…”

"Wait. Yeah!" Nightshade says standing up. "Mommy doesn't have a body so you can't kiss and make foals. So how was I born!? Actually, can someling finally explain how foals are born in general because I know I'm an exception."

Everyone stares at you and Selena blushing madly, and Celestia can’t help but give a little chuckle.

“Um…well you see Nightshade,” Twilight tries to start but can’t bring herself to do it, so she turns to Cadence.

“I didn’t think it was my place to do so, but her parents are here now, so…” she gestures for you two but you bite your lips.

“Oh for-this is bogging things down,” Sombra grumbles in annoyance. “Your birth wasn’t typical Nightshade, but for everyone else when a Stallion and a Mare-“

"NOPE!" You yell. "We are NOT having that conversation now or anytime in the near future!"

"But daddy!"

"No buts! I will tell you when you are older!"

Nightshade proceeds to slam her forehead on the table and groan really loudly which breaks the tension somewhat. Rarity and Fluttershy struggle to stifle their giggles, but Rainbow and Pinkie don’t even try to.

"Ohoooo- Mr. Tennant! I mean Bugze! I forgot how lively it could be with you and your daughter around." Rarity says, wiping a tear.

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up you know it all smug adults!” Shade grumbles, her face still on the table.

Selena clears her throat, and gets the attention back on her.

“Nightshade’s existence…is a private matter to discuss,” she emphasizes. “All you need to know for now is that she is in fact mine and Bugze’s daughter. Both our blood flows through her.”

“But if that’s the case and she didn’t exist until you two met, then she can be no more than 3 or 4 years old then,” Celestia points out confused and you both sweat harder. “Is time travel also a factor in this?”

“I don’t think so…I am actually only 4 though,” Nightshade admits sheepishly lifting her head off the table.

“WHAT?!” nearly everyone on the other side of the table exclaims.

“Yeah yeah, I know that’s not normal,” she says giving a nervous look to Spike who seems flabbergasted.

“Y…Y…You’re 4?” Spike struggles to ask as his scales pale and Nightshade wilts her ears.

“Yeah…I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but it’s really awkward and even I don’t get it,” she apologizes.

“But you look to be the same age as Applebloom!” Applejack says perplexed.

“Because physically and mentally she is the same age as Bloom,” Grandbuggy explains and Nightshade looks to him. “And in a way that not even her mother understands, time travel elements were factors.”

“I beg your pardon?” Selena asks and you look to Grandbuggy as well. He then leans in to your ear, allowing both of you and Sombra to hear.

“I’ve got a gist of what spell ya used moony, you’d be surprised how many villains in the past have tried it,” he explains while the group on the other side of the table and Nightshade try and fail to eavesdrop. “The kind of transmutation you used incorporates Chronomancy, or Time Magic. From the caster’s point of view Shade’s only 4, but she quite literally is the same age as Bloom.”

Yours and Selena’s jaws drop and Sombra puts a hoof to his chin in thought.

“What?! What are you whispering?!” Nightshade demands. You simply look from Selena to her and admit,

“Honey, it seems we owe you a lot of missed birthday parties.”

“Huh?” she gapes.

“I had no idea…but you’re not actually 4 my precious,” Selena says beaming at her daughter.

“Wait really?” she says looking lost. “But…what did I miss? What is…huh?”

“It’s wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff kiddo, but don’t worry, you look your actual age,” Grandbuggy smirks.

“I am?! Well that would have been nice to know this last year Grandbuggy!” she huffs and throws her legs up in frustration.

“So wait, she actually is the same age as the CMC?” Spike all but pleads for an answer.

“Yeah kid, don’t worry your scaly little head none,” Grandbuggy chuckles and Spike lets out a huge sigh of relief and clutches his claw over his heart.

“Oh thank the gods…”

“Um, do you care to elaborate any?” Twilight urges.

“Yeah, do you?!” Nightshade pushes.

“…As we said, that’s a private conversation,” Selena repeats.

“And for when you’re older,” you add to your daughter.

“But I’m apparently already older than I thought!” she grunts.

“Even older than that!” you shoot back.

“Gyagh!” she bellows and once more plants her face onto the table.

“…Alright then, we expect that conversation at some point,” Celestia decrees, showing that it’s not a matter of if but when.

"Um, anyway, after the Fillydehlpia incident, we caught you as The Hooded Offender in a horde meeting. Can you explain what happened there?" Twilight asks awkwardly getting back on track.

"Well, first off, I didn't know ponies were still organizing horde groups, and I certainly didn't want one to pop up in the town I was currently living in, so I went there only to put a stop to it. If I went there as anyling other than The Hooded Offender I wouldn't have had a chance at stopping it. Actually, I think it's still a thing in Ponyville, but definitely not at the same level."

Fluttershy and Spike look away awkwardly at that.

“I couldn’t exactly stop Octavia and the rest once they put their mind on it,” she excuses.

“They did help us during the Vampire Apocalypse,” Nightshade points out.

“The What?!” you, Selena and Sombra gasp.

“Later,” she waves off, filling you with anticipation.

You then go over other events, like getting hospitalized and the Mysterious Mare Do Well incident, and then Fluttershy brings up a traumatic event for all of them.

"Then there was the forest fire and we thought you died…I thought you died,” she explains in melancholy. “Not BST Not The Hooded Offender. I thought you died Hoody and you never told me what happened that day."

"Sorry about that, that wasn’t my intention,” you apologize before sighing for like the millionth time. “There were these five changelings from my past that showed up. They drugged Nightshade and took her into the Everfree forest to draw me out because they wanted to talk.”

“They drugged and kidnapped Nightshade because they just wanted to talk?” Spike says sounding aggravated.

“I know right? Those were my feelings as well,” you agree with the dragon.

“I’ve gotten better with my drug resistance since then,” Nightshade pouts, embarrassed over one of the few times she actually was helpless.

“Tell that to the hippies,” you snark and your daughter blushes again. “But yeah, they wanted my help to break Chrysalis out of her prison, but I didn't really care about that because they’d pissed me off. All of them but one didn't or couldn’t understand how much Nightshade meant to me. They thought I was keeping her with me as a constant love source.”

“Something I concluded as well when we battled,” Sombra points out.

“Yeah, I don’t really remember that, but I’m sure I got just as angry. I ended up fighting all of them and obviously, a Changeling pumped to the max with an alicorn's magic would win, but I nearly killed them all…I basically did anyway when I left them for dead when a bunch of dragons showed up, but I didn't care. I took my daughter with me and left them behind.”

Your voice hitches as you remember Sin and the others screaming, and you remember their scars from when you met with them again.

“In the midst of all that, the forest got set on fire, and I didn’t know you guys thought I burnt up, which again, sorry about that.”

“But why didn’t you return after that?” asks Rainbow Dash.

“I didn't return to Ponyville because that's when I saw Spike heading to the Dragonlands."

"So that's how Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and I met you at the Dragonlands!" Twilight says in realization.

"I thought he was going alone, so I followed him, you say, getting a thumbs up from the dragon. “Plus I figured Nightshade would get all upset if I let him get hurt too.”

“Dad~!” Nightshade whines while several of the adults laugh.

"Well, I mean…” he stammers, no doubt imagining things you didn’t say on the field. “Whatever the reason, thanks for always having my back dude."

"Any time!" You try to thumbs up back, but you remember, "Oh yeah, not in the human world anymore."

"I can't wait for you to tell me your journeys over there,” Twilight says with a giggle.

"We'll get there,” you reassure. "Anyway, continuing on. You four know what went down at the Dragonlands."

"I went to save a Phoenix egg Garble and some other guys were going to smash and you ended up saving us,” Spike reiterates.

“And said dragon is now smaller and hanging around in your clique?” Rarity inquires and Nightshade shrugs.

“He’s gotten better. His dad basically kicked him out of the dragon lands until he could be more empathetic, but then he started following me around because I’m his self proclaimed rival,” she explains. “I mean sure, he can still be a butt, but he’s not going around smashing eggs or other really mean things.”

“Cause he’s had a dose of the real world, that’ll shape anyling up,” Grandbuggy tells her before chuckling. “Plus being shrunk sure helped.”

“Yeah,” she nods. “But I think he’s earned his height back. You figure anything out yet Ms. Twilight?”

“He tried to eat the Tree of Harmony…solving that riddle is going to still take some time Nightshade,” Twilight says sounding exhausted of looking into it.

“Eh, worst case scenario he just has to grow up again,” you shrug indifferently. “Another dragon around ain’t gonna hurt.”

“You say that, but you left us with Crackle for two years,” Twilight grumbles and your eyes lighten.

“Oh right Crackle! That girl was a big help! How’s she doing by the way?”

“She’s fine…ever since she moved out of my library and started living with Octavia and Vinyl.”

“Huh, now that’s an image,” you say trying to imagine how chaotic that living condition must be.

“One day you need to take her back,” Twilight informs.

"Hey, it's her choice to stay if she wants. Convince her yourself." You wave her off, to which she groans and slouches.

"Other dragon friends aside, your whereabouts for the next few months is unknown,” Celestia interjects. “Did you return to Appleloosa?"

"Well..." you trail off as you remember the Doctor showing up and how things led to the otherworld.

"After the Dragonlands, I went somewhere else first…the place where I saw everyone die, as I said earlier,” you say apprehensively and they all hear the trepidation in your voice. Pinkie Pie especially wilts her ears and mane and looks at you in sympathy.

Oh right, I did tell her that day in the Empire, you remember.

“I see,” Celestia says excusing herself. “And you still wish to keep that for last?”

“Yeah…it’s a story I don’t like telling,” you admit and Selena attempts to put her hoof on your shoulder, but it fazes through you. You give a small smile to her sentiment before coughing into your hoof and continuing. “But after that adventure, which we’ll dub The Nightmare for now, I did go back to Appleloosa... for a few minutes. Then I realized I needed to take care of the Crimson Knights first."

“Wait, how did you know about the Crimson Knights that soon?” Shining inquires. “We hadn’t even heard wind of their group at that time.”

“It, uh, it relates to the story I’m saving for last,” you explain vaguely.

“Okay…well carry on then,” he encourages.

"Yes, please do. Is this where the Crimson Vengeance was established?" Luna asks.

"Not exactly, what happened first was... the Crystal Empire incident you say looking to Cadence and Shining and Sombra.

The crystal king’s eye twitches at this but he nods for you to continue.

“Nightshade and I had been moving around, camping from area to area. I wanted to stay off the grid because of…injuries that happened in that last adventure.”

Selena frown in remembrance as she stares at your chest towards the wound hidden under your layers of clothes.

“And you were camping…in the arctic?” Cadence asks confused and you shake your head.

“No, no, I ain’t that dumb. We were as far from the arctic as you could get, and Nightshade was practicing her teleportation spell Twilight had taught her.”

“Which you’ve become quite excellent at,” Twilight praises your daughter. “Earlier after the iceberg when you teleported yourself and Spike away, a part of me was so proud.”

“Aw, thanks Twilight,” she beams before scratching at her ear. “But I haven’t exactly mastered it yet…and I sure wasn’t a master of it back then either.”

“That’s putting it simply,” you chuckle before looking back to the bookworm. “She was thinking about showing off to you Twilight, so her teleportation spell brought us near you all. And you guys were just outside the Crystal Empire."

"Then you put on your El Hunko disguise, and acted worse than the Crystal Ponies before we turned on the Crystal Heart,” she muses curiously. "When we saw you in the library, was that acting, you being Bugze, or actual stress you were having?"

"Actual stress, but it ties to what happened with The Nightmare," you gloss over and she nods in understanding. “I wandered around, saw Cadence and Shining and tried to help out, but that didn’t go too well.”

“And then you told me exactly why you were sad,” Pinkie interupts and they all look to her. “Oh right, I’ve known he was El Hunko since that day.”

“You did? Why didn’t you ever say anything Pinkie?” Applejack asks incredulously.

“I Pinkie Promised him I wouldn’t tell,” she explains and that’s all they need to understand.

“Oh, alright then,” Applejack and the others nod.

“And wait, he told you what happened?” Luna asks and she nods.

“Yeah, some of it, but since he’s waiting till the end, I won’t say a peep,” she says giving you that small sad smile again.

“Thanks Pinkie,” you say in genuine gratitude. “So yeah, I had a heart to heart with Pinkie, and then the barrier started coming down and Sombra showed up.”

“I’m sure they remember that all too well,” Sombra says matter of factly looking over each and every one of them, causing them to shudder.

“Kind of a hard thing to forget,” you say. “But you guys know the spiel, I fought Sombra as El Hunko, changed my outfit mid-fight, and managed to lose control again."

“You losing control that time was far more horrific than the others,” Fluttershy admits and you wince.

“Yeah, I know, believe me I know.”

"Was he threatening your daughter like Flag Burner, or was erm... Selena the one who made you lose control like at the Gala?" Celestia inquires giving a side glance to your better half.

"Neither, I just lost control after what happened to Shining,” you say looking to the scar on the stallion’s abdomen. He looks at you at that as Cadence takes his hoof for comfort.

“All because of me?” he asks.

“Of course,” you nod. “Try as I might, I never really could hate you. You’re Cadence’s husband, and you make her happy. So when you got skewered…I saw red.”

He and Cadence look at with you in understanding and he gives you a head tilt of acknowledgement, before they both look to Sombra, but he doesn’t look at them.

“And so we fought, and I lost control, and Nightshade entered the fray and was more than a match for him. I guess my baser instincts said she was in trouble, but in hindsight he was no match for her,” you say smirking to the fallen king. Said king snorts and crosses his arms, still not looking up from the table.

"Come on Sombra, it wasn't that bad, I had help from Spike remember?" Nightshade tries to reassure.

"Ah yes, beaten by two children a fraction of my age, what a mighty king I am,” he grumbles.

"As for Selena…she wasn’t there to keep me from going berserk,” you explain and everypony raises a questioning brow at that.

“She…wasn’t there?” asks Luna.

“Well, I mean she was still in my head but she…” you trail off and she sighs.

“For lack of a better word, I was comatose,” she admits.

“Comatose?” Celestia inquires.

“Yes, during The Nightmare she risked her life to save mine and nearly died,” you say as you reach for her hoof, only for it to pass through.

For those that hadn’t heard that tidbit before it’s shaking, most of all for Celestia and Luna who look at the darker alicorn as if they can’t believe it. But at her down turned eyes and melancholic expression, they start to accept it.

“You saved his life?” Luna asks still bewildered and she nods without looking up.

“Yes. My bug will go into more detail towards the end, but suffice to say if given the chance, I would do it again in a heartbeat.”

“If I had the chance, I wouldn’t have you go through that again,” you tell her soothingly and she smiles.

“…So what I’m getting from this is that because she wasn’t conscious, the power flowed through you uncontrollably?” Twilight deduces.

“That’s exactly what happened,” you tell her truthfully. “I don’t even remember that fight because I was a literal beast.”

"And then you ate me," Sombra says grimly.

"And then I ate you, yeah,” you agree. "But take it this way, the Crystal Heart would have killed you if I hadn’t. You might be still alive because of me."

“A fact that some would say was a mistake,” he says with a head tilt towards the rulers of the Crystal Empire.

Throughout the recount of the incident, they haven’t let their eyes wander from him.

“…You tried to kill my husband,” Cadence says to him sternly as the atmosphere in the room gets tense.

The dark stallion hasn’t really looked at them directly since the topic of the Empire’s come up, but at that he looks up at her.

“Yes…yes I did,” he admits and she and Shining scowl harder.

“You gutted me, and I would have died if Cadence hadn’t been there,” Shining takes up the reins.

“More than likely,” he answers.

“That’s the one thing I can’t look over,” she continues. “Despite everything Bugze and Selena have done, you are the one who came the closest to robbing us of a loved one.”

“Yes, I won’t deny that at all,” he says stoically looking at the old wound on the white stallion.

“H-hey now, he did start to get better later in the y-“ Nightshade begins to defend but he holds a hoof up, cutting her off.

“Even when they hear that, it won’t erase the pain Nightshade,” he instructs before facing the one’s he’d wronged. “Nothing I say will ever make up for what I did.”

From the expressions on the royal couple, you see they entirely agree.

Puzzling Frost’s Comment

“It had not been my attention to kill the stallion, I’d wanted to kill you,” he says to Cadence truthfully and everyone at the table flinches. “I know it changes nothing, but I took you to be Princess Amore…” he trails off, his lip upturning into a snarl.

With the atmosphere tense, Cadence looks to the others on her side of the table and back at you.

“If you don’t mind a side tangent in the middle of your tale, can I ask something of Sombra?”

“Uh, sure. I was at the end of what happened in the Crystal Empire in the first place,” you shrug. Cadence looks to Twilight, who brings out a fresh set of paper and nods. Your oldest friend then turns back to the former king with that same firm and cold expression.

“Sombra, why did you take over the Crystal Empire?” she asks, her icy tone causing a chill to run down your spine, which for a moment makes you think the barrier has fallen and the blizzard’s made its way inside. Your gaze slowly turns to Sombra who stares back at Cadence with a neutral gaze. His eyes narrow before he lets out a sigh.

“Telling you my origin will not make you hate me less Princess, nor will it justify what I’ve done,” he says dismissively.

“No, but it will at least allow me to understand why Nightshade and Bugze have been so adamant about forgiving you,” she says in that same stone cold tone.

“The short answer is that they are optimistic to a fault,” he says and you frown in offense. “But if you wish to know, I will tell you, though I doubt it will change your mind.”

“And why is that?” she challenges. “You know now I am not Princess Amore.”

“No…but you have her eyes,” he nearly growls and the green of his eyes overtaking the white, which causes everyone to tense. “The eyes of a mare that made me suffer…”

Everyone dares not speak as the former king pants a little, forcing his eyes to return to normal. Cadence and Shining for their part, do not break eye contact with him.

“As I said, I am not Amore,” Cadence says stoically.

“…I suppose you are more straightforward than she ever was,” he relents before sighing. “But I know for sure that you are a piece of her.”

“What do you mean by that?” she inquires and he shakes his head.

“If you wish to hear my tale, then perhaps you will draw the same conclusions,” he answers vaguely before glancing to Nightshade for comfort. “I’m assuming you’ve stumbled upon some of my old things here in the castle, including my journal?”

“Yes, I have with some help from Twilight, although I haven’t read it yet because it was nearly impossible to open so Captain Jack wished to inspect it first,” she explains.

“Hmm, perhaps he has viewed my tale, but the journal was only accessible to two ponies originally. Myself and….Radiant Hope.” Sombra sighs as if he had just been hit. Celestia and Luna’s eyes widen at the name but they stay silent. “You wanna know why I hated Amore and seized power? It all centers around Hope.”

Sombra then begins his tale, and you are given a moment of respite from reciting yours. You and Selena have heard bits and pieces of this tale, especially in regards to Hope, but you know Nightshade has already heard most of the story as she scoots closer to the king to comfort him as best she can.

“As you can tell I am not like other Crystal Ponies, as in I’m not one. I was just a child when some guards found me out in the arctic tundra outside the empire…Alone,“ he begins, having everyone’s full attention. “I had no memory of anything prior, and I was taken to a local orphanage. The only thing I could say was Sombra, which then became my name. I was taught to read and right, but because of my appearance and odd speech I was bullied throughout my childhood.” You feel a pang of pity for the stallion having gone through similar troubles in your past.

“I only had one friend, a crystal unicorn named Radiant Hope. She too was teased for her overactive imagination, she told me she saw and talked with fairies and humans and other imaginary creatures. We played games, made up a language only we knew. We were happy growing up.” Sombra says with a small smile before frowning as his tone turns dark. “Then came the day when I saw the Crystal Heart for the first time…”

He tells of how Hope went to the Heart before the festival. How she saw a vision of herself as a Princess, and how he saw himself as a monster. He tells of how Princess Amore arrived and how he’d lied to her about his vision.

“She had paused at my statement but lowered herself to my level and gazed into my eyes. She told me that I had the power to shape my destiny and change what I saw. But it was all lies,” he snarls. “The day of the fair came, however I had found myself suddenly ill and I couldn’t move. As the day progressed I grew worse and worse, pain filling my body. The doctors could not find what was wrong with me, but Hope never left my side, even as the fair came to its end with the heart shining its brightest. She stayed with me until we both fell asleep. By the next day, I was perfectly fine, as if I was never sick in the first place. Together Hope and I planned for the next Crystal fair, but when it came time I fell ill once more.”

Wait a dang second, it’s obviously the heart that was hurting you so…you realize as your eyes widen. Oh…oh gorramn…

Hearing your thoughts Sombra just looks to you and squints his eyes a bit before turning back to Cadence.

“For fourteen years this continued, my pain only getting worse and worse, denying the chance for Hope and I to go to the festival. Until finally one year, my body couldn’t take it anymore. I suddenly began to be ripped apart. I screamed in pain begging for help and in a moment of great magical feat, Hope saved me,” he says with a faraway look. “In that instant, she gained her cutie mark, a symbol of healing, for she could heal nearly any injury with a wave of her horn…something that didn’t go unnoticed for long,” he says pointedly looking towards Celestia and Luna.

“I…I only vaguely recall the mare in question,” Luna admits. “Celestia handled those kinds of things more than I.”

“I do remember that mare and her ability,” Celestia says looking to Sombra. “I invited her to my school. I felt she had the potential for Princesshood, or even ascension.

“Which would separate me from the only friend I ever had, and my only chance of survival,” Sombra continues with hardened eyes. “With Hope gone I wouldn’t be able to survive whatever was destroying my body for the past fourteen years. In my panic and fear I ran. I ran and didn’t look back, but in my attempts to flee my destiny I ran straight to it.”

“What do you mean?” Twilight questioned.

“I found my birth mother,” Sombra says simply, and everyone’s eyes widen, even Nightshade.

“I don’t remember that part,” she says and he nods.

“For I refrained from telling you. I had fled into the cold frozen north from where I was found and happened upon a large red crystal. It...spoke to me.”

“…The crystal talked to you?” you ask befuddled and he sighs.

“Not literally cockroach,” he chides as his voice gets darker again. “Rather through it my mother spoke to me. She asked if I came to free her along with the others. My race, the Umbrum.”

“Okay, now we’re getting back into familiar territory. Can’t believe you never mentioned your mother before,” Nightshade grumbles and he rolls his eyes.

“She was just the instigator for the grander scheme,” he says shaking his head. “She and the rest of my kind were born of dark magical powers and used to rule over the Crystal Ponies, until they were defeated and sealed away for all eternity. Only through the combined efforts of my people’s greatest mages was I turned into a pony and freed. But being so young I had forgotten my task.

“Task? What task?” Rarity inquires.

“To set them free,” he says simply and everyone feels nervous about that. “My mother had also explained to me the reason behind my suffering for the past fourteen years. The heart still saw me as an Umbrum, and every Crystal Fair it had tried to destroy me. The very thing I had wanted to see my whole life was the thing behind my pain and suffering!”

He roars and slams his hooves onto the table which causes everyone to flinch. As he’d done with Flag Burner earlier, his hooves have left a mark despite him not actually being there.

“Is that why you were so happy when you corrupted it and used it as a weapon against us in the fight?” Nightshade asks him and he stops panting and looks to her.

“…Yes, I suppose I’ll always be a bit vindictive. Without the love of the citizens, it is just a channeling stone after all, which is how I used it against your father and you.”

“But back then, you couldn’t have possible done so,” Selena points out and he nods.

“No I couldn’t have. I was just still young and not nearly as powerful…But when my mother unlocked my sealed powers, that changed soon enough,” he says quietly, his voice growing cold again. “Things suddenly made sense and I knew how to utilize my true potential, but first I had to get rid of the Crystal Heart.”

“And that’s when you…?” Nightshade trails off and he nods, not looking at her. You’ve heard this part too in pieces, and you know who got killed after that.

“When you what?” Cadence inquires with squinted eyes.

“When I finally became who you see,” he says hollowly. “I hesitated at first when I approached the heart, my thoughts going to Hope…but it still harmed me then and there, so I stole it. And that’s when Amore appeared before me once again…”

If the room was tense before it’s now suffocating as Sombra starts to tremble.

“And she told me I didn’t have to be one of those monsters…” he seethes and Cadence’s eyes widen.

“She knew?” the love princess gasps and Sombra grits his teeth.

“Oh she knew alright. She knew the whole time what I was, and what I was going through. She let me suffer in ignorance for all those years! FOURTEEN YEARS OF PAIN AND SHE DID NOTHING!!!” he roars and your own eyes briefly wisp with purple and green as his power spreads through you. Gritting his teeth, Nightshade attempts to put her hoof on his and he closes his eyes and goes back to his emotionless tone. “And so I repaid her in kind and petrified her.”

Celestia and Luna scowl at that, having known the past Crystal Princess.

“You petrified her?” Celestia drills.

“Yes…but you won’t find her within this Empire,” he says, still looking at Cadence. “For so long I had been afraid…but it was through my fear I had taken down my torturer, my people’s oppressor. I discovered the strongest power of all. Stronger than love itself. Fear, fear was my strength, my ally, and I would take the fear they put in me and repay each of them with it. I would enact my revenge, the revenge of my people upon every last crystal pony.”

Cadence, though her eyes seem moist, still stares the fallen king right in the eye as he speaks.

“And so you did…”

“Yes, and so I did…but not before Hope tried to stop for me,” he says, lowering his gaze. “I offered for her to be my queen, to get back at those that had wronged her as well…but she refused. She pleaded for me to stop and set things right and to restore Amore, but I couldn’t let that happen. So I shattered her petrified body.”

Mostly everyone on the other side of the table gasp at this declaration, but no one says anything as he continues.

“I scattered her shards across the globe, and Hope fled from me, and in that moment I lost my one true friend, and the only mare I ever loved,” he says still looking down, tears running down his face. “And so I enslaved the Crystal Ponies, I stamped out any resistance around the Arctic, and I got to work trying to free my people…” he then looks up at Celestia and Luna. “But then you came from the south and I ran out of time.”

“Radiant Hope had told us how you enslaved the North and assassinated Amore,” Celestia says with a frown. “And that is when we engaged you in battle.”

“And a hard fought battle it was,” he says with a sniffle and stares directly at Luna. “You had me dead to rights when you unleashed your own shadows.”

Luna flinches at that and glances briefly at Selena.

“That was one of the first times I felt the call of the void,” she says and Selena nods.

“I remember…” she mutters and Sombra shakes his head.

“I had lost, but I would not give you victory, so I enacted my curse which stripped me of my material pony form to send the Empire into limbo. In the blink of an eye, a thousand years had passed. And on the day of my return, is what kick-started my whole involvement with this narrative,” he says sounding somber and tired. “And look where that’s gotten me, no home, no people, no body, no friends, nothing.”

At his sudden melancholic tone, you reach out mentally and put a hoof on his shoulder.

“Hey, that’s not true buddy, you have us now,” you comfort and he tenses.

“Dad’s right Sombra, we’re still here,” Nightshade comforts as well.

“I hadn’t realized how much hardship you’d gone through Sombra…you have my sympathies as well,” Selena adds. He looks between the three of you and sighs before wiping at his eyes.

“No matter what you three think, it’s not you who will decide my fate,” he says somberly.

“Maybe not, but I think you’ve made a pretty good case for yourself,” you say pointing across the table. When he looks up, he sees what you’ve been seeing for the last few minutes. The Elements and Spike and even Cadence and Shining have misty eyes, some more than others.

You yourself had to dab at your eyes, and you even saw Grandbuggy at one point turn his head to do so discreetly.

You’ve moved them more than you think Sombra, you think privately and he sucks in his lip.

“Be that as it may, it is but pity, for my tale is a pitiful one. It still doesn’t absolve me of my sins,” he says while looking at Cadence and Shining.

“Maybe not…but I do understand now Sombra,” Cadence says with a slight nod of acknowledgement. “And with this information, I think I might know even more about my origin…”

“Cadence?” you ask surprised and she glances at Celestia.

“I was found as a pegasus near a village in the middle of nowhere with no memories. A family took me in and raised me, and one day I defeated a witch by melting her icy heart with the power of love. That is when I ascended and Auntie Celestia adopted me into the royalty,” she narrates before her eyes settle back on Sombra. “You said you scattered Amore across the world…I’m a piece of her aren’t I?”

Mostly everyone, especially Shining Armor look at Cadence in shock at that, and their jaws drop further when Sombra answers,

“I believe you are. As I said, you are not her, but a piece…and I can still feel that piece.”

Cadence frowns and looks to the sun princess.

“Did you know auntie?” she asks and Celestia sighs.

“I believed you to be her reincarnation, but I never could find out for sure,” she admits. “But with this knowledge of her body being scattered…”

“You also got the Doc to thank for that,” Grandbuggy pipes after staying silent for so long, which even takes Sombra aback.

“What do you mean old changeling?” he inquires and Grandbuggy grins.

“The Doc found a crystal heart one day. Not THE Crystal Heart, but a smaller one, perfectly pony sized,” he explains and Sombra’s jaw drops. “Well suffice to say it was bleeding love magic as hearts are wont to do, and attracting some ancient changelings. When he brought it on board the TARDIS some shenanigans happened and a pegasus filly came into being.”

“Wait, wait, hold up! Are you telling me Cadence was born on the TARDIS?!” you exclaim as Shining Armor looks at his wife with even more affection.

“Something like that,” he shrugs. “I wasn’t around for that little adventure as it happened in his current form, but he’d told me about it. He then placed that filly near that village to restore a fixed point in time and…well, here ya go.”

Cadence still looks flabbergasted about her origins and his just opening and closing her mouth like a fish.

“I…I…” she sputters and Twilight is furiously scratching out notes.

…I can’t believe how similar she is to Nightshade, Selena thinks to you privately and you nod your head in disbelief.

Our family tree really is complicated…

After this realization, Sombra stands up a bit and leans towards Cadence. Looking her deep in the eye, he says,

“Amore, if there’s any trace of your soul still left in there…I will never forget the suffering you caused me. I will forgive you for the fact that I truly am a monster…but I will never forget.” He then leans back and says, “And neither should any of you forget what I’ve done. I regret my sins past and present…and I apologize for trying to end your lives.”

Cadence and Shining look absolutely floored, and Celestia looks impressed by this resolve.

“I…” Cadence trails, still at a loss for words.

“You’ve heard my tale now Princess, and you claim to understand me now. Are you satisfied?” he asks and her eyes start darting all around.

“I…” she says again, but Shining puts a hoof on her shoulder.

“Yes, that should be enough for now,” he says still with a frown directed at the Crystal King.

“Very well then,” he says. “And before you ask, I’m not sure how to think about my imprisoned brethren. All I know now is that they are the only lead in helping Nightshade.”

“That sounds like a delicate matter,” Luna concludes and looks back at her niece. “Something we should prep for when things get settled.”

“Agreed,” he nods before turning towards Celestia. “But before the cockroach picks back up, I have one inquiry left.”

“What information do you seek?” Celestia asks with a raised brow.

“…Did Hope live a happy life?” he asks, his tone full of regret, and that just hits everyone else in the table right in the feels. Celestia takes a moment to compose herself before she answers.

“Truthfully, I do not know,” she answers and he frowns. “After the Empire disappeared, she stayed for awhile with us in Canterlot, but she declined to join my school. She bid Luna and I farewell one day and left…and we never saw her again.”

Sombra internalizes this answer and looks at the table where he made the dent.

“So she never did become a Princess. All because of me…” he nearly whispers, causing Nightshade to comfort him again.

Haryou Changer’s Comment

Kichi’s Comment

"I’m sure she’d be proud of you Sombra,” she encourages and the stallion looks to her with disbelief. “After all, you're beginning to become the pony she always thought you were."

He says nothing to that, only staring at Nightshade with a look that many have given her over the years. The shock of such wisdom coming from someone so small.

“…Continue with your tale pest,” he orders you, not even looking in your direction, but you can see as some of the tension in his shoulders has loosened.

Smirking you cough into your hoof.

“So yeah, thanks for sharing that with us Sombra. It just goes to show that you don’t really know a guy until you learn his story, right?” you say looking to all the girls who chuckle nervously.

You then look to the conflicted looking Shining and Cadence who are still processing all the new info.

Even if they never trust him again, I think perhaps they’ll forgive him. A sad back story goes a long way, you think optimistically.

The Present

Or maybe not, you think pessimistically as you use the wall for balance. The crystal is cold and slick, but it’s all that’s available to you. Sombra, if it turns out they decided not to let you go and lumped me and Selly into this I’ll…I’ll…

You don’t know what you’ll do, because you don’t feel like you can do anything at all.

Gorrammit! What went wrong?! Was this all just a trap? Did Fluttershy or Cadence even try to stop them?! Why did they do this to us?!

In your mental anguish, you trip over the manacles and slide down the wall, hitting your chest onto the ground.

“Oof!” you grunt as you meet the floor with your face once again.

I’m missing something, I just know it! You think assuredly. Suddenly, you hear the sound of a metallic screeching gate in the darkness before you and you lift your head.

“Heh heh heh, that’s what you get you cybernetic freak show. That’s what you get for being so edgy,” a male voice echoes down the corridor. You don’t recognize the voice, but for some reason it puts you on edge.

“It won’t be long now till dear ol Bugze makes his way here, and boy is he gonna flip,” the voice laughs gleefully and your eyes widen.

Who the buck is that? you wonder as you get back to your hooves again. And who are they talking to about me escaping?

Without any other leads, you slide against the wall once more and start making your way towards the giggling male voice.

Whoever they are, they talk like they know me…maybe it’s a friend rather than a foe? You wonder, and for some reason a chill runs up your spine. As it does, the chains clink together around your hooves and you freeze in place.

With that clinking of the chain, the mumbling of the male voice stops, and you immediately hold your breath.

“…Well, well, well, guess my gloating took up more time than I thought,” the voice says nonchalantly. “Don’t be afraid, come along Bugze, I’ve got a present for you…”

Sweat immediately forms at the back of your neck and you feel like a moth caught in the light of a campfire.

“Aww, come on Bugze, you really gonna treat a friend like that?” the voice says sounding off put and the tone makes you gulp.

If they were the ones to imprison me then they wouldn’t even have attempted to talk, you reckon as you steel your nerves and walk forward again.

“There we go,” the voice says after you take a few steps, before suddenly a torch lights up, and you see that this hallway is at a dead end. Standing silhouetted by the firelight is a brown earth pony stallion with a dirty blonde mane, dressed in a black suit, red tie and grey fedora. A frowning mask and a laughing mask make up his cutie mark, and he smiles at you, standing in front of the last cell in this hallway. “Well aren’t you a sight for sore eyes. You don’t call or write for a whole year, it’s enough to make a guy worried.”

“Who the buck are you?” you ask the unfamiliar stallion, which only causes him to smile in an even more deranged manner.

“Oh you know, just a friend…”

Flashback

“After crash landing, Nightshade watched over me in an abandoned cabin in the Everfree. Only we didn’t know it was the Everfree at the time,” you continue.

“Yeah…and that’s when I found Sunny Town,” she says with a shudder.

"Wait a second, Sunny Town? Does this have something to do with zombies in the Everfree?” Applejack asks suddenly and you and Nightshade stiffen.

“How did you know that?” Nightshade asks. “She and I were supposed to keep it a secret.”

“So it does have something to do with ya’ll,” Applejack frowns before sighing. “But don’t fret, Bloom never told me, I just overheard her talking in her sleep a few times when she was having a Nightmare. She kept mumbling about Sunny Town, Rose, and zombies.”

“Ah…her recurring nightmares…” Luna says with recognition.

“Yeah it was a crazy evil place…” you trail off before looking at Luna. “You know anything about Sunny Town?”

“I only know what I have witnessed in young Applebloom’s nightmares. Reoccurring dreams take time to stamp out, but from what I witnessed I did not think they could possibly be real,” she admits.

“Well it was real alright,” Nightshade shivers. “When the sun was shining, it was a nice, and happy place, but then it got dark after we found a filly’s skeleton and then everything went to Tartarus.”

“Yeah, there were zombies and exploding bugs, and bucking Pyramid Head himself!” you exclaim.

“Who?” asks Rainbow Dash.

“Another fictional character that’s apparently real, only this one was from a horror video game,” you say putting a hoof to your head in remembrance.

You and Nightshade then go into more details about the town.

“I don’t ever recall a settlement like this existing,” Celestia ponders. “A millennia ago, I do recall an outbreak of the Cutie Pox, but it had been contained. To think that there were those that huddled in fear in the Everfree without my knowledge…”

“Or that a poor filly’s soul could curse an entire town for a thousand years,” Fluttershy says sadly.

“Wrath is a powerful motivator when it comes to curses. I should know,” Sombra says and she winces at that.

“So this Pyramid Head thing, does it still roam the Everfree?” Luna inquires and you shrug.

“I have no clue, the ghost filly told him everything was cool and he just wandered off.”

“The Everfree does tend to have eldritch abominations in it that just wander off, just like that faceless stallion in the suit,” she shudders, as does Fluttershy.

“Oh yeah, Slendy’s still out there too,” Nightshade nods.

“Seriously, what fictional characters aren’t real at this point? Remember that time Spidermane showed up out of nowhere?” you say exasperated, recalling the time the superhero saved Diamond Tiara from falling off the roof.

“It’s best not to think too much on that boy, your mind won’t be able to take it,” Grandbuggy reassures and pats your shoulder.

“If you say so,” you relent with a sigh. “But after getting out of that Tartarus, we dropped Applebloom off with Zecora then headed on. We found one of Grandbuggy’s old bunkers, and that’s where the idea to become a bounty hunter was born.”

“Why there specifically?” asks Cadence.

“Because Grandbuggy had a bunch of cool stuff in there, and we needed money. Plus, that’s when Selena came back in an epic way,” you say smirking to the mare.

“Oh, it wasn’t anything special,” she hoof waves, trying to sound nonchalant.

“The buck it wasn’t,” you say playfully. “One night when I was sleeping, Sombra showed up in my mindscape. At first I was happy he wasn’t dead, but then we started having a mental battle.”

“As to be expected since I was trapped there. And I would have won if she hadn’t woken up,” he grumbles sorely, side eying Selena.

“Against one such as I, you never stood a chance,” she snarks back and the king grumbles more. “But yes, I awoke and turned the tide of the battle, looking as you see me now.”

“I had been wondering why your form has been presented as such,” Luna says. “With no armor and being slightly smaller than I…I couldn’t figure out why you would look like this.”

“It wasn’t always this way,” Selena sighs. “For the first two years, I looked as you remembered. But after The Nightmare, my magic prowess and life force was significantly decreased saving Bugze’s life.”

“Believe it or not, she actually looked a lot smaller initially, but as she recovered, she grew back to this form,” you explain.

“Indeed, but this form…this is who I am now. A form I am much more comfortable with. My own…”

“I really like it better too. So much easier to hug in the mindscape,” Nightshade adds her two cents and the adults smirk.

Luna takes a moment studying her unorthodox “twin” before she finally nods.

"You say your power was diminished, but the battle with Sombra proves that you still have much left," she points out.

“Not nearly as much as what we had together,” she says to Luna who sucks in her lip.

"Obviously,” you snark before continuing. “So Selena had Sombra magically caged in my mind, and with her back I put on the Bounty Hunter Crimson Vengeance persona. I took a few regular bounties before I started going after the Crimson Knights, and you all know how that went."

"But we never would have realized how personal it was," Cadence admits. "I sure wouldn't want a dangerous cult worshiping me running around."

"Eh, some of them weren't even that bad. Really the majority of the Crimson Knight leaders were just a bunch of weirdoes that got put in positions of power by the real masterminds.”

“Ah, you are referring to the Changelings,” Celestia says and you nod.

“Yeah, they were using the Knights to work their operations right under your noses. Not even the Generals that were changelings themselves knew…”

You and Nightshade and Selena then go on about the many misadventures taking down the Crimson Knights and meeting Aqua again and Greta helping out in a puzzle filled sanctum of evil robots. Hearing that, they all give Mangle more weary glances, but you continue on.

How much of a bonehead Silver Strange was, how Kichi shouldn’t be left around kids, how Solarkness and Rutherford were obsessed with law and wanting to make films, how fat and grotesque Kersey was, how vengeful and misguide Spartan was, how drunk and stupid Brown Dog and Snap Drake were, and lastly how dangerous and deranged Grey Rebl and Erised were.

Nightshade also adds how she got on stage with Sapphire Shores, a name which cause both you and Selena to wince at, and how she grabbed the moon at the Hippie Camp.

“So it’s been YOU who’s been messing with my moon?” Luna gasps.

“I’ve only done it like…three times,” she excuses.

“We’d written it off as…well, your mother doing it, but it’s been you the whole time?”

“Yeah, I just said I did,” she points out and Luna looks at her sister slack jawed.

“I was in my adolescence before I could move it on my own…”

“She’s more powerful than we imagined,” Celestia says in awe and respect.

“Plus that first time, she didn’t even know it since she’d gotten a contact high from all the filthy hippies,” you point out and they drop their jaws even more.

“I really don’t remember it clearly,” she says with a giggle. “Apparently Garble was there and I let go of the moon to go kick the crap out of him, so I guess in a way he saved the day?”

Still in shock over your daughter’s immense power, you continue the tale to right when Celestia showed up at Arkhay and your splitting with Aqua.

“We then decided to give up on being a bounty hunter and wandered along. We didn’t plan on coming back to Ponyville, even though Nightshade wanted too, but then Discord showed up.”

“Discord made you go to Ponyville?” Fluttershy asks.

“Well…not really. He just showed up and started taunting me basically that he’d been reformed by you and that I was still public enemy number one…so I kind of maybe sort of thought that he was lying and that Ponyville was taken over by him.”

“So you didn’t believe that I’d actually reformed him?” Fluttershy asks, sounding hurt and offended.

“No, dad didn’t think you had it in you,” Nightshade answers bluntly.

“Nightshade!” you scold but she shrugs.

“What? It’s true! Even Discord sounded offended,” she argues and you look back to Fluttershy who is frowning.

“Okay, to be fair, Discord is a smug snake and manipulative liar and I didn’t trust him!” you defend before sighing. “So yeah, he said all that and that he wasn’t going to turn me in because he still appreciated someone chaotic out there, even if he himself couldn’t be chaotic. After he disappeared I ran to Ponyville.”

“That little…” Luna grits her teeth before groaning and looking to her sister who is also frowning.

“So he’d been lying to us when he said he couldn’t figure out where you were last year,” Celestia says sounding upset.

“Apparently,” you shrug and Luna grimaces.

“I told you he would not be tamed so easily!” she scolds her older sister.

“You and I both agreed he was our best chance of finding the Offender!” Celestia argues back.

“Well I suppose he was, and he decided to keep that to himself!” Luna huffs and crosses her arms.

“…I think I’ll have a talk with him about not opening up to you two when we get back home,” Fluttershy says stoically.

“Please do, because if you don’t, I will,” Luna snorts and everyone looks at her apprehensively.

“The guy does need tough love, but go easy on him. He’s still powerless after all,” Nightshade defends.

“Yeah, I’ll handle it, I promise,” Fluttershy agrees, wanting to protect the draconequus.

“Well that aside, when I got to town, I felt for sure he was lying because the Pinkie Clones were everywhere.”

“Right, where Ms. Twilight became a mass murderer,” Nightshade adds.

“It wasn’t like that!” she bellows before coughing and composing herself.

Skiny_Boy’s Comment

Loganic’s Comment

“Look, in the moment, when you all started accusing me of killing them, I got wrapped up, but I didn’t necessarily kill them,” she defends with shifty eyes.

“Sure seemed like you did to me,” you argue and she sighs.

“The clones I…dispelled were sent back into the Mirror Pool from the magic they were created from. Whether their consciousness remained or not, I don’t know, but there was no soul transference or life lost.”

“Well, it seems more like you didn’t give them the chance to become their own pony if you want to put a label on it, which is still pretty terrible,” Selena observes and Twilight flinches.

“Yes…I know that. Though I haven’t seen any of the ones you rescued since that day, but I’ve heard reports.”

“We’ve met a few over the last year,” Nightshade pipes up. “Heck, there were quite a few living in Appleloosa when we had our big fight.”

“And…are they…sentient?”

“Well, the ones in Appleloosa still are Pinkie-ish in a way, but Braeburn and the locals taught them how to live, and some struck out to be their own ponies. They’ve all avoided Ponyville though for obvious reasons,” you say and she nods.

“Some have their own personalities and different names now too, it’s pretty interesting seeing different sides of Pinkie,” Nightshade says and the party pony smiles.

“Oh my gosh, if they are their own ponies, then that means they are kind of like my sisters right?!” she exclaims, but continues talking before anyone can answer. “So if I can find them and make things right between them and Twiilight then I can take them home to see Mom and Dad and Limestone and Marble and Maude and we can be an even bigger family!”

“…Does that mean I’m kind of sort of related to them too?” Nightshade asks.

“With your family history? I think it would count,” Sombra answers.

“Whatever the case, we saved the Pinkies, and we ended up sticking around Ponyville again…”

Haryou Changer’s Comment

Kichi’s Comment

Jayo Jack’s Comment

Since many of them were present for a lot of it, you all do a quick recap of your second stay in Ponyville, highlighting things like the Reunion, hanging with Flash, Nightshade reforming from being a bully, and the night where Selena finally told you the truth. You don’t go into details obviously, but you tell them all how you truly and completely forgave her. Grandbuggy also adds in how he was around in the background through a lot of these events, including dragging you out of the river that same night.

Then you get to another of your sins.

"So, that mare, Trixie Lulamoon," Celestia begins and you sigh. "At this point in your tale Selena is reformed I take it. So why then did things turn out the way they did?”

Sombra turns his gaze downward as Selena nods for you to begin.

“Trixie…was a lot of wrong things culminating together all at once,” you begin. “Nightshade and I were actually going to leave town that day and we’d secretly said our goodbyes to you when Flash left. The thing is though, when that barrier got put up, me and Nightshade got separated. I thought maybe there was an external threat so I told her to go to the library while I went to Zecora’s…but then I ran into Twilight on the way there.”

“I remember that, you said you’d sent your daughter to get snacks and you weren’t in any of your costumes,” Twilight recalls.

“Yeah, because I’d thought we were already gone and was trying to comfort Nightshade…but you caught me and that’s all I could come up with,” you explain. “Sorry for lying and being so harsh back then. Even though only hours before that we were all having a great time together."

"Don't apologize, you had no choice. I also remember your attitude changing immediately when I said Trixie was responsible."

“Yeah…” you say with regret. “I’d hated Trixie for so long after the Ursa Major incident. Unlike all of you, she had been a friend first before she betrayed me and…and I held a grudge.”

“I can understand that feeling, of holding onto anger for so long," Celestia says turning to look at Selena. "Betrayal can hurt a lot more than the actual blow they say."

“And that invisible wound will still remain long after any other scar or bruise has healed,” Selena says looking to Luna. All three alicorns silently acknowledge their past feelings.

“But like any wound, it will fester if you don’t treat it properly. And I sure didn’t…” you admit in shame as all the other mares look at you sympathetically. “When Twilight and I got back inside, I told everyone to clear off, and I hurt her again and again until she was finally beaten, like everyling else that’s gone against me.”

No one says anything as they wait for you to gather yourself, which you are thankful for. Taking a deep breath, you push on through.

“I wanted to hurt her but I could never bring myself to kill her. Not then and certainly not now. The fight itself isn't important. After I defeated her, she begged for my forgiveness. But I didn't want to give it to her. She kept begging... and even took off the amulet to prove that she wasn't lying. She wanted to do anything to befriend me once again, to atone for her mistakes… but I never gave her a chance. I told her it was too late, that I couldn't forgive her after all she had done..." you sigh in misery, everyone paying rapt attention. “After telling her that, she…she began to think that... maybe the world didn't want her around...that it’d be better without her in it…" You look Celestia in the eyes. "And she tried to kill herself."

Her face winces as if she’d just been struck…but she doesn’t seem all that surprised. Mostly, she just looks at you with sympathy and pity, as does everyone else.

“…When she awoke, the Doctor’s found that she still had that mentality, that she didn’t deserve to live,” Celestia says closing her eyes and sighing herself. “They’ve made great progress with her since then, but for awhile there, she had to be observed regularly and sedated.”

“Yeah…I figured it was something like that…” you say looking down in shame.

"She's still alive, though right? That means there's still a chance to make things right, and that also means we have a chance to make her smile again," Pinkie Pie says to you optimistically and you can’t help but have the corner of your mouth twitch momentarily.

“Still, she only was driven into that corner because of me, because I couldn’t let the past go and move on with someone who was genuinely trying to change. Because I had rejected the idea that it could ever happen for me, so why should I offer it to others?” you say hollowly before Nightshade grips your arm and Selena attempts to. “…I’m glad she’s doing better, and you’re right Pinkie, there is another chance…but I didn’t know that in the past.”

You then look back to Celestia.

"You arrived just in time and teleported her so she could survive, and I’m thankful for that…but at that moment all I’d known was that I killed her. Noling was influencing me, it wasn’t an accident, and it wasn’t even in the midst of rage. I told her to her tear soaked face that she ruined my life and that I would always hate her. I took away her hope and pushed her into despair…And when I held her bleeding in my arms, and tried to take it back, she didn’t believe me…right up until she stopped breathing.”

A few tears fall from your eyes as reliving the memory has worked you up. You sniffle and wipe your nose and cheeks as your family begins to comfort you. There’s more than a few wet eyes on the other side of the table as well.

“I saw her again at the end of last year, inside of her dreams. I was able to apologize and I told her to live on…but the guilt still remains, and I wanna see her in person again,” you admit.

“Grandbuggy took me to see her,” Nightshade says and you look at her with wide eyes.

“You…saw Trixie?”

“Mmhmm,” she nods. “She’s really doing a lot better and I got to apologize to her myself for how mad I’d been at her. She wants to see you again too Daddy.”

You stay silent for a moment as you process that before looking to the Princesses.

“I hope I get the chance.”

"Back then... I shouted at you,” Celestia says regretfully and full of remorse. "I blamed you, yelled in your face. Even when I knew you were broken just by looking at your eyes…I apologize for my actions and words that day. Even while knowing how it affected you, I couldn't help myself but be angry."

“I don’t blame you Celestia,” you tell her plainly which shocks her. “We’d been at each other’s throats for so long, I don’t blame you for jumping to the obvious conclusion. It’s not like I could have said anything in that moment to clear it up anyway…”

“And he would not have been as broken were it not for my meddling,” Sombra pipes up.

“What do you mean?” asks Luna.

“Over that year, whilst they kept me sedated, I figured out I could manipulate some of his emotions, just as the shadow mare used to,” he explains and Selena winces. “I suppressed his guilt for the longest time…and during that moment I released it all and overwhelmed his psyche.”

“Wh…why would you do that?” Fluttershy asks with tears in her eyes as everyone starts to glare at the king.

“Because I was still who you all remember and I wished for freedom, and the only way to go about that was killing him…I had no idea what the Elements of Harmony were truly though,” he explains up front.

“And because of that, Bugze was mentally broken for some time,” Selena says looking at you with a sorrowful expression. “Breaking through his inner turmoil and taking control to stop you from firing the Elements was the only thing I could’ve done to save him.”

“And then we all blamed you for everything…” Fluttershy says frowning. “I’ll admit, I led the charge on that one.”

“What other conclusion could you jump to?” Selena dismisses with a sigh. “But after I fled from you all, I confronted Sombra, locking him away again, and I controlled Bugze’s body while we recovered in the bunker.”

"Now that I know what truly happened, I'm glad I didn't do any worse to you…” Celestia admits looking at you apologetically.

“She and Nightshade were eventually able to bring me out of my stupor…but then I truly came back when we got a knock on the door.”

You then go on to explain how Sin arrived and explained how she and the others survived the dragons and had found other scattered Changelings. You tell them how they’d influenced the Knights, and how their ultimate goal was to free the rest of the Hive. You speak of you “reunion” with Chrysalis and the revelations you’d had. You speak about how you were all for helping them, until they talked about how Appleloosa would be drained to help facilitate the breakout.

“We’d heard that Appleloosa had been invaded, but we didn’t know you were involved,” Applejack says, sounding very relieved.

“Because the townsfolk and the guards didn’t rat us out,” you point out and Shining’s lip twitches at that. “But yeah, that plan had already been put in motion. When I turned on her, she locked my powers with a piece of the changeling throne and knocked me out. When I came too, I was on the TARDIS.”

“And that’s when I finally made my presence known after so long,” Grandbuggy chimes in. “I’d kicked the Doc out after learning of all the boy had gone through, and was catching up, though admittedly that did put a dampener on his relationship with his lady friend, but they’re doing better now.”

“Lady friend? Who is-“ Twilight starts, but Grandbuggy interrupts her with,

“Spoilers.”

“Yeah, don’t pry into that one Ms. Twilight,” Nightshade warns. “But yeah, we all met with Jack and Aqua and, uh…Mia, and we went to go save the day.”

You see Twilight about to ask who Mia is, so you cut her off.

“Thankfully the Generals I’d captured had broken out of their bonds and had teamed up with the remaining guards and townsfolk who hadn’t been captured. When we got there, I rallied them all and we fought back till it was only me and the augmented 5 left.”

“And that was when Sombra truly started to change for the better,” Nightshade says with a smile at the former king who just scratches at his ear.

“Right,” you nod. “You all saw my awakened form on the field earlier, which isn’t something Selena and I could accomplish on our own.”

“Phase 4 is indeed too powerful even for me to properly regulate…but before we lost control completely, he intervened.”

“I only did so because Nightshade asked me too,” he excuses while crossing his arms. “I did not want to disappoint her again…”

“And you didn’t,” she says cheerfully and looks to the Princesses. “Sombra saved my Mom and Dad that day and helped turn the tide and let us win.”

They all look to the King with awed looks at this, but he doesn’t meet their eyes and just huffs.

“Whether he admits it or not, it’s the truth,” you agree. “We stopped Sin and the others, and then I went into the Hive-Mind itself…”

You tell the princesses how you broke the Hive-Mind, how you gave the Hive a chance for redemption, and how almost half took it.

“They left Chrysalis and her loyalists and are going down another path in another place and another time according to the Doctor,” you explain.

“You…reformed half the hive?” Twilight gasps in awe. “I’m the Princess of Friendship and not even I was able to do something so grand…”

“Well, it was their choice to make,” you point out. “Anyone who’s left with her after they escaped is loyal to her, so keep that in mind.”

“Oh we will,” Shining says with determination.

You then go on to say how nearly all the Crimson Knight Generals now work for Torchwood and according to Grandbuggy are in space fighting aliens. Many find this cool, many find this sneaky of Jack to pull one over on them, and some like Twilight have an aneurism trying to imagine a group of nutjobs traveling through space.

“And then we found out you became a Princess and we decided to lay low because you were even more powerful now,” you tell Twilight who laughs sheepishly. “But after awhile Jack eventually got ahold of us saying he figured out a way to get Selena and Sombra’s bodies. We met up with him and he said that many artifacts were needed, but that the most important one would be a Siren Stone which had been banished to another world over a thousand years ago. I agreed to partake in this dimension hopping after leaving Nightshade with Grandbuggy.”

“And the minute Daddy was gone, Grandbuggy and I decided to go get the other artifacts so that wouldn’t waste time waiting for him to come back,” Nightshade adds.

“And I was right, we got all the necessary ingredients now,” Grandbuggy says to you smugly and you grimace.

“Yeah yeah, well you may have gotten multiple things, but I had to deal with a world full of humans after turning into one,” you grumble. “Seriously, I still owe Jack a sock in the face for not giving me a heads up.”

“I can understand that feeling all too well Bugze,” Twilight says with a shudder.

“Oh please, at least you guys got to be humans, I got turned into a stupid dog!” Spike grumbles.

“…Yeah, I suppose it could have been worse,” you nod.

“Did you get pictures like I asked Dad?” Nightshade inquires.

“Yup! And they’re all right here on this fancy cellular phone thingie,” you say pulling out the cell phone from your inventory.

“Oh wow, you really were there,” Twilight says as her eyes alighten. “All the girls had those.”

“They are pretty neat, and they have a lot of funny cat videos on this thing called the Internets,” you say holding aloft the phone causing all the ponies to go,

“Oooooohhhhh.”

You then attempt to tap the screen and turn it on…but your hooves really don’t work with it as well as your fingers did.

“…Hey Spike.”

“Yeah?”

“Do me a favor and press this button, then the slide your claw across the screen then press an image of a flower would ya?” you say as you slide the phone over to him. It takes him a moment, but the drake eventually gets it and starts scrolling through the pictures you’d taken.

“That’s what you looked like as a human Dad?!” Nightshade exclaims in shock. “I…I don’t…I don’t know how to feel about that.”

“I think disgust is the word you’re looking for honey, because I was hideous,” you admit.

“Hey now, I think we still look pretty good for humies,” Pinkie Pie points out to some of the pictures of them.

“If you say so,” you shrug. “But yeah, I was in the human world, and it was nuts…”

You then start telling about your trials and tribulations in Human Land, from meeting your doppelganger, to befriending Human Twilight, encountering random magical stones, meeting the Dazzlings and of course Sunset and the Rainbooms. You leave nothing out.

“…So my human doppelganger turned into a supervillain?” Twilight asks in shock.

“Yeah, but we were able to stop her…literally a few hours ago,” you nod.

"I would never have suspected my counterpart had things that bad... I mean, I was a little reclusive before coming to Ponyville, but it was not that drastic" she comments.

“It also sounds like Human Twilight did not have the best instructors,” Celestia adds. “If I’m not mistaken, there was an Abacus Cinch that taught at my school, but she’s long since retired. She wasn’t exactly popular, but in light of the human version’s attitude, maybe I should ask some former students about her…”

“It might not yield anything though, some humies were wildly different. Take Human Filthy Rich, a huge D-Bag compared to the real one, and on the flip side Human Spoiled Rich is the superior version and nice,” you explain and the alicorn puts a hoof to her chin.

“Intriguing…”

“I’m mostly disturbed that Human Twilight would use poor little monkeys to do her bidding,” Fluttershy says and you get a thousand yard stare.

“They weren’t poor or little Fluttershy…I still hear their howls when I sleep…”

“Well even still, it just shows how a tormented soul when given power can become corrupted and lose their way,” Luna says before looking to Selena. “I can relate.”

Selena lowers her gaze at that and grits her teeth, but she does not deny the comparison.

“I guess so,” Twilight shrugs. “But all of that madness with Freddy’s, I’d hate to think of machines like that still running around.”

“I kind of took care of that inadvertently last year,” you say and she nods.

“And that time loop, that would explain why the cracks in reality formed in the first place…I’m sorry you had to go through that,” Twilight apologizes.

“Eh, it is what it is. I might have gone a little nuts there, but I was able to speed run that happy ending eventually,” you shrug.

“Yes, happy ending…including my human counterpart being in a relationship with yours?” Luna asks feeling uneasy.

“It was more like she started acting more like me and went back to him,” Selena says with a hint of pride.

“I still can’t believe all your alternate selves were rock stars, that’s so cool!” Rainbow gushes.

“Not to mention you used the power of Rock n Roll to save the day,” Fluttershy congratulates.

“Yup, and I couldn’t have done it without the help of all my humie friends, Sunset and the Dazzlings.”

“Now that I’ve got an idea of who they are, I actually kind of like them,” Nightshade admits.

“Good, because they are really bucking powerful and can in fact mind control folks, so best to be friends with them,” you encourage and pat her head.

“Also, they came dangerously close to being your new sisters,” Selena says to Nightshade and everyone’s eyes widen.

“WHAT?!” a lot of ponies screech including Nightshade.

“I said close!” Selena defends. “Bugze of course shot that down because he wants to use the TARDIS and save their race and family from the past, but I could have been a good mother to them.”

“The ancient sea horses…that are over a thousand years old?” Grandbuggy deadpans and she glares at him.

“Oh hush up. You of all creatures should know about time displacement,” she grunts before coughing and composing herself. “But yes, instead we decided to go with them being unofficial nieces to you.”

“Oh…okay, that’s a little less con-“

“It’s Sunset Shimmer that I truly wanted as your sister though!” Selena continues, causing Celestia and Twilight to nearly choke.

“Wait just a second here N-Selena!” Celestia objects. “You wanted to adopt my former student?”

“Yes because she is precious and trying her hardest!” she argues and Twilight looks at you quizzically.

“But…she’s older than us…she’s older than you too Bugze,” Twilight says and you roll your eyes.

“I know, I know, we’ve gone over that. That’s why that got shot down as well…even if she did call me Dad in the midst of that battle, but that’s B2’s problem now,” you excuse and everyling looks at a loss for words.

“Sorry we couldn’t get you a new sister immediately Nightshade,” Selena apologizes as said filly rubs her temple.

“It’s fine, I think adding more to our family tree like this would be really complicated,” she responds. “I mean, I’m not against having a new brother or sister, but I get to be the older sibling because I came first! So how about you and Dad just make babies the regular way okay?”

Both you and Selena blush at that as several others on the other side of the table choke…except Cadence who’s eyes lighten with literal sparkling hearts.

“Eeeeee…” she squees under her breath, making Shining nervous.

“Oh…my…” Fluttershy mutters, the yellow of her body completely red.

“Uh, honey that’s…” you trail off in embarrassment.

“Already taken into consideration,” Selena finishes for you and your eyes widen even more.

“Okay good,” Nightshade nods obliviously as Selena sends you a sly lid eyed smirk which causes you to flush even harder. She then notices the expressions on all the other mares and quickly composes herself.

“But um, yes, Sunset Shimmer chose to stay behind with her friends, but we would like to visit her again one day,” she moves on.

“I, uh…” Twilight says shaking her head from her own blush. “I’ve got some ideas on how to get around the 30 Moon waiting period….”

And while the bookworm goes on about sciency nerd stuff, Grandbuggy elbows you lightly in the ribs and whispers in your ear,

“I’ll watch the kid when it comes time for the honeymoon.”

“W-we’re not even married Grandbuggy,” you stutter feeling incredibly embarrassed.

“I’ll fix that when the time comes,” he promises. “I’m a licensed pastor on 17 states and 4 different time periods.”

“So! Anymore questions on the humans before we move on?!” you shout as Grandbuggy chuckles.

Looking at the flabbergasted ponies, including a very lost looking Celestia and Luna, you see as your shout seems to bring them back to your senses. Except Cadence of course, who is still beaming with her eyes twinkling. Surprisingly though, the first hoof in the air is white and it’s not Celestia’s or Shining’s.

“Yes, I have a question,” Rarity says.

“Go ahead,” you encourage.

“Awhile back I felt a strange sensation of jealousy wash over me. Did you use somepony or rather somebody in the human world as a meat shield?”

After the embarrassment earlier, everyone is dazed and confused by the dress pony’s inquiry.

“Wait, seriously?” you deadpan and she pouts.

“Completely serious darling. I know it sounds strange, but being your meat shield was one of our only significant interactions,” she points out.

“…Huh, guess you and I really never hung out much huh?”

“I sure never hung around her,” Nightshade grumbles under her breath giving the mare a scowl. “Abusing my dragon…”

Luckily either your mind didn’t process that last bit, or it chose to forget it as you focus on the fashionista’s question.

“Well, I did in fact use another human as a meat shield,” you admit. “But if it helps, it was the human version of you.”

“That does in fact make me feel better, thank you darling,” she says pridefully before lowering her hoof.

“Oookkkkaaayyy,” Twilight says with a raised eyebrow. “I’ve got a few questions myself and-“

“Anyone else beside Twilight?” you interrupt and she frowns. “Because there’s a lot about the Human world I could go on about, like the evils of buses and carnivorous metal birds called planes, but Nightshade hasn’t given her side yet.”

They all look at each other and shrug.

“I know I’ve got a question or two, but I suppose that can wait,” Applejack relents and looks to Nightshade. “Go ahead sugarcube.”

“Alrighty then, where to even start?” Nightshade ponders as the spotlight switches to her and Grandbuggy. They then meticulously go over what they’ve done this season.

You learn about her first flight, meeting Ahuizotl, how stupid Cabelleron is, how crummy Griffonstone hospitality is with their price gouges and undead cyclops monsters. She talks about visiting some strange Equality Cult in the middle of nowhere that you accidentally funded.

“That sounds like something that needs to be looked into,” Twilight mentions and jots a note down.

You learn about Grandbuggy’s refusal to pay Slendermane, serving Blueballs in a foreign restaurant, reuniting with Trixie, fighting the plant monster in Rainbow Falls and receiving the amulet in the first place, being cared for by the merchant, going to the dragon lands, burning down a chunk of forest chasing after that wendicolt before she got her sense back, going back to Ponyville and making progress with your Apple family, accidentally creating vampires…

“So it wasn’t completely my fault!” Twilight exclaims.

Becoming friendly with Discord and filling Cadence in, and of course the moments leading right up to the Equestria Games before you arrived.

“Wow…when you put it like that’s it’s almost like I didn’t do anything over in the humie world,” you say as you take in all of your daughter’s accomplishments.

“Yeah, you might have actually made negative progress thanks to that time loop you were in,” Pinkie adds.

“But even still, this amulet in you kind of overshadows everything else,” Selena responds and Nightshade sighs.

“I know, and it really sucks too because we were doing so well.”

“But now that we know the location of the Umbrum, getting clues to removing it safely should be forthcoming,” Luna says.

“Still, that poor windigo colt…” Fluttershy says sympathetically and Nightshade winces.

“Don’t worry your heads none, I’ve got a few ideas on how to get that kid a happy ending,” Grandbuggy reassures and Nightshade looks at him curiously.

“Does it involve time travel?”

“Of course it involves time travel kiddo,” he smirks and ruffles her mane.

Puzzling Frost’s Comment

Just Outside

“Achoo!” Frost sneezes, interrupting his off and on playing of the Ocarina that Nightshade lent to him.

“Saluth,” Ahuizotl says from a plush sofa not too far away

“Huh?” the colt asks.

“It means bless you in whatever language he speaks,” Garble informs, feasting on snacks that were provided.

“Oh, thanks,” Frost nods as he wipes his nose.

“I don’t think you need to keep playing the Ocarina so often,” Daring points out, sitting next to Sonata. “The princesses have the storm kept at bay.”

“Yeah I know, I just wanna keep showing that I’m useful though so that they don’t change their minds and throw me in the dungeons with all the other Suns,” he responds with a shiver.

“I doubt they’d do that at this point,” Greta interjects with a cup to her ear pressed against the wall. “Heck, Nightshade’s Dad has done a lot more than any of us have and they’re willing to talk it out with him. And it sounds like it’s going well.”

“Yeah, well ‘sounds like’ and ‘actually are’ are two different things,” Adagio says as she swim hovers around in a circle biting at her hoof.

“Trust me on this lady, they’re making some good progress,” Greta reassures.

“Yeah, relax Dagi, everyone else is,” Sonata says before turning back to Daring. “So as I was saying, Mr. Bitey was the coral stray Tuna Shark, and everyone hated him but me.”

“Because he kept biting everyone!” Adagio growls.

“Not me! Because I gave him fresh squid on Mondays and Tuesdays, that’s when they’d come up from the deep you see and-“

“I’d really just like more specifics on your culture if that’s alright?” Daring interrupts, having been taking notes.

“Oh, not much to tell there. It was really boring, we just swam around, once in awhile the elders would have to ward of Liopleurodons and Plesiosaurs, scam artists the whole lot of them, but then Adagio got an idea after Aria got mad at our dad to take over the surface and…”

The blue siren keeps speaking fast in run on sentences as the archaeologist tries to keep up and her orange sister sighs in frustration.

“Wow, seems like you’ve got a lot to handle with annoying family huh?” Ember says to Aria.

“That I do, that I do,” the purple siren nods.

“Trust me, I know the pain. My Dad can be a real dumbass some time.”

“So was ours…though I guess we weren’t always the best daughters,” Aria says, her tone getting sad, which Ember picks up on.

“Oh, sorry,” she apologizes awkwardly. “Is he…?”

“Apparently so since it’s been over a thousand years and our entire race is extinct,” Aria sighs looking down and Ember scratches her ear fin nervously.

“Wait, you’re from a thousand years ago too?” Frost inquires curiously.

“Yeah, we got banished through time and space and stuff, so it didn’t feel that long.”

“…I can relate. On a few things actually,” Frost mumbles.

“But yeah, one of the biggest reasons we joined Bugze was because he said he could fix all of that,” Aria continues. “He knows a guy with a time machine or something, so we can still save our family and people…somehow.”

Frost’s eyes widen a bit, though there is some skepticism.

“Oh yeah, the old bug was always talking about traveling through time. Some healer friend of his or something,” Ember nods.

“Doctor actually,” Ahuizotl corrects. “And I’m inclined to believe him seeing as I’ve seen ancient runes on temples that depict such a stallion.”

“A time traveler…” Frost trails off in thought.

“I think they were just talking about something like that,” Greta says as she adjusts the glass on the door.

“Interesting…” he says deep in thought as he puts the ocarina to his lips and starts playing a different little song as he ponders.

And subconsciously, all the sirens in the room start humming along with it, as they’ve done the last few times. Sonata takes that a step further as she continues to regale Daring Do with her history, while keeping it in tune with the song.

“And then that stupid skinny pony got that big bearded old jerk, some big guy with a shovel, a really wrinkly lady, a witch doctor, this fast as heck pegasus guy with a shield and some lady from Mummy Land and-“

“Well, well, well, isn’t that a nice tune to walk in on…” a stallion’s voice interrupts, causing the whole room to turn, and immediately all the females in the room raise an appraising eyebrow.

“Oh la la,” Daring mutters as standing in the doorway is the most handsome earth pony stallion any of them have ever seen.

“Whoa, that’s confusing,” Ember stutters with a blush, looking away from the stallion.

“Yeah…” Aria agrees.

“Who’s the hot guy?” Greta says from the wall.

“Captain Jack is presume?” Ahuizotl asks and the stallion looks towards him with a grin.

“If that’s what you want to call me, sure,” the stallion says with a shrug.

“Oh, it’s that dude Nightshade was talking about that can’t be killed,” Garble points out, one of the only ones in the room not affected by the striking handsomeness.

“Right…that is certainly a problem,” the stallion says with a scowl in a stilted manner.

“He can’t die?” Frost asks Garble who just shrugs.

“Apparently.”

“Oh, so you’re that guy that hits on everything Bugze was talking about. I knew a dolphin like that back home,” Adagio nods in understanding, and the stallion’s face…twitches.

“Ah yes, Bugze. I can’t wait to see him again,” he says with a voice of longing, and to even those charmed it sounds creepy.

“Oookkkaaayy,” Ahuizotl says with a raised brow. “Well if you’re here for the meeting they’re in the midst of it, though I heard they were looking for you.”

“Oh I heard that too, but I don’t want to interrupt them just yet,” he says dismissively. “I’ll let them catch up. Really I’m more interested in you lot.”

More ponies then start entering the room, all dressed as the royal guard, their expressions though seem…off.

“Oh, I guess they did find you after all?” Greta asks, feeling uneasy for some reason.

“Something like that,” the stallion says with a smirk, which makes others in the room feel uneasy as well. Then Nightshade’s friends, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon walk into the room as well, their expressions just as strange.

Jack’s eyes then land on the Sirens.

“Say, those are some fine looking necklaces you have there…”

Haryou Changer’s Comment

Kichi’s Comment

Jayo Jack’s Comment

Puzzling Frost’s Comment

Back In The Meeting Room

“So earlier in the battle, while we were battling that plant dragon abomination thing, I still noticed that at both Selena and Sombra struck Flag Burner,” Twilight inquires.

“Yeah I saw that too, that was so freaking cool dudes!” Rainbow fangirls.

“Uber cool! When did you guys learn how to do that?” Nightshade gushes.

“Well, truthfully it felt like instinct for me,” Sombra admits. “Though I figured it was possible since your mother had done it in the human world.”

“Limitedly I could do it in the human world,” she corrects. “But training that technique in a realm without magic and then coming back here, it felt only natural.”

“Like a Stand battle…” Fluttershy whispers to herself.

“What was that Fluttershy?” Pinkie asks.

“Nothing, I said nothing!” the closet otaku denies and clamps her lips shut.

With that question out of the way though, you realize that all of you have told your tales to the fullest. All but one. So you cough into your hoof to get everyone’s attention.

“Now that we’ve gotten right up till a few hours ago, I think it’s time we finally talk about…The Nightmare,” you say reluctantly and the mood becomes somber again.

"I will warn you, this is a horrific tale," Selena warns. "Only Bugze, myself, the Doctor and his companion witnessed this first hoof since Nightshade was thankfully asleep due to the drugs those changelings used on her.”

“So right after the dragon lands encounter?” Twilight inquires and she nods.

"Last warning. I'm not going to go light on the details here..." You warn, and no one moves an inch. Rarity gives Fluttershy a look, and the yellow pegasus breathes in deeply. Twilight puts a hoof on Spike's shoulder, and he nods to tell her he's fine.

"So Nightshade, Quick Fix and Sombra haven't heard of this either I'm guessing?" Cadence asks as she holds her husband’s hoof.

“Daddy told me on the TARDIS before the Appleloosa invasion…we had all the time in the world after all,” Nightshade confesses with a sigh, remembering how horrible it had been for you to recount it.

“And I learned about it first hoof from the Doctor,” Grandbuggy chimes in. “It was one of the reasons I kicked his sorry arse out of the TARDIS for a year.”

“And I have seen it myself many times within your subconscious,” Sombra says surprising you and Selena. “We share a mindscape after all, and it was one of the many things I witnessed within your guilt. I don’t know every single detail, but the things I have seen are worse than any fear I could conjure.”

At that admittance, even Celestia and Luna look apprehensive of the tale to come.

“So no one on this side of the table knows then?” Luna asks.

“I know some of it,” Pinkie Pie admits in a strangely calm tone and her friends look at her. “At least some of the sad moments anyway.”

You look at her sympathetically, remembering how she’d helped you last year just by lending and ear and comforting you when you had no one else to talk to. Steeling yourself, you take a deep breath, and let it out.

"Well, if everyling's ready. It's time to go over The Nightmare."

The Present

They took everything else well! Nightshade and Grandbuggy’s adventure was interesting and Selena was saying all that provocative stuff in front of everyling! The atmosphere was great! Did talking about The Otherworld lead to this? you wonder with a hoof to your temple as the stallion in front of you smirks.

“Ah, you’re brain still rebooting? Wouldn’t be surprised, you took quite a nasty hit from that mean ol’ witch,” he chuckles which causes the hairs on the back of your neck to stand up on end.

“What are you talking about? What witch?! Where’s Nightshade! Where’s Selena! Where’s Sombra!” you demand.

“Where’s the beef?! Where is Harvey Dent?! Where in the world is Carmen San Diego!” he demands back which throws you for a loop.

“What?”

“Oh, sorry, I thought we were playing a game,” he chuckles before bopping himself on the head. “How utterly foolish, I’m sorry I’m such an ignorant buckhead!”

He then starts guffawing as if that was the funniest joke ever and you wince at his callous attitude and take a step back.

Whoever this guy is he’s a few fries short of a happy meal, you think apprehensively as the stallion finishes up his giggling fit.

“Sorry, sorry, I know you’re brains still scrambled eggs, but it’s just so hard not to laugh when seeing your face in person you know?”

“I don’t even know who you are or what you’re talking about! What’s going on?! Why am I imprisoned?!” you demand and he smiles…wrongly at you.

“Oh I’m pretty sure you know the answer to that,” he says cryptically. “The answer is the friends we made along the way!”

“Huh?”

“Alright you caught me, that’s a load of B.S.,” he chuckles and you frown in annoyance.

“Seriously, wh-“

“But in all actuality, I could tell you where your daughter and ghost wife are, but I’d rather talk about how your sweet, cuddly imaginary friend Sombra is doing.”

Your eyes widen at that, but before you can ask more he continues.

“Spoiler alert, he’s resting in the arms of his misguided and easily manipulated childhood sweetheart,” he says in false whimsy, holding his hooves together. “It’s enough to give you diabetes.”

“Listen here you lunatic, I don’t know who you are but you better start making sense right now or-“

“Or you’ll what? Rage out and pummel me with the power of gods and anime? Newsflash for you buggy boy, but you’ve been nerfed,” he taunts and your eyes narrow. “Your waifu isn’t in your skull anymore, so the days of using your edge lord cloak are far gone buddy.”

Fear spikes through you as your worst fears are confirmed. You are powerless.

“I mean, you had a good run there, four years of actually being able to fight back against the whims of Luck, it’s no small feat,” he backhand compliments you. “But on the other more fun side, that power sure made you the perfect target.”

You grit your teeth and growl at the earth pony.

“Where. Are. They?” you demand again and he frowns.

“Wow, touchy touchy,” he says holding his hooves up. “I’m sure your wife and kid are alright, they were with Sombra’s squeeze…at least they were a few days ago.”

“Days?” you gasp and he smirks.

“How long did you think you were out for dum dum?” he mocks and you put a hoof to your head again.

“I…I don’t know what’s going on,” you sputter.

“Does anyone?” he shrugs. “But yeah, you’ve been taking a snooze buddy. You, Nightmare Moon and Sombra needed to rest up after how that meeting went.”

“What happened? How did everything go south? What-“

“Ah ah ah,” he waggles his hoof. “I wouldn’t want to rob you of that realization. Besides, I told you I had a present for you. It might just hold the answers you seek.” He then gestures to the dungeon cell he is standing in front of.

“…What’s inside?” you ask hesitantly and he smirks.

“I don’t want to spoil the surprise,” he says with a malicious grin, which is emphasized by the shadows of the flickering torch. “So why don’t you take a look?”

Every instinct in your body is telling you not to listen, to make a run for it and be anywhere else. But you have no choice. He’s the only one at this current time that supposedly knows where your family is. So with hooves feeling like they’re encased in cement, you start shuffling forward.

“Good boy,” he smiles maniacally. “I’m sure you’ll have things handled from here.”

“What do you-“ you start to ask, when suddenly the torch behind him flickers out for barely a second. But once the fire becomes steady again, the sharp dressed stallion is gone.

“Hey! Wait a minute!” you call out as your eyes dart around the hallway. But unfortunately, and almost impossibly for a dead end, he is gone. You are beyond confused and your head still pounds as the memories flood back. You can’t comprehend how an earth pony could have possibly disappeared like that.

“Was he even real? Who was that guy? What does he want me to see?” you wonder aloud in frustration as you look towards the dungeon cell up ahead. Your eyes then widen though as you spot something right where the stallion had been standing.

A letter on some very familiar stationary.

Flashback

"I managed to damage the TARDIS when I got angry at the Doctor, and the machine brought us to an alternate universe."

"Fascinating, another reality outside of the human world? That means multi-universal theory might be more-“

"Trust me, you won't be so excited when I tell you what we saw, you interrupt and continue. ”So we landed in an alternate Equestria…an Equestria that was completely destroyed with no sign of life anywhere."

They all pale at that bit of information.

"Was it in the future? Since you were in a time machine?” Shining Armor asks and you shake your head.

"It was a future, just not our future,” Selena answers. "The timeline coalesced to this world’s, but at the same time you lot were leaving the Dragon lands, in the other reality the end of the world had begun.”

“End of the world?” Twilight gasps before looking puzzled. “But how…what could have…?”

“Not only was everything destroyed and desolate,” you continue over her mumbling. “But it was a place we recognized…Appleloosa.”

Everyone gasps at that, Applejack even more so.

“Holy apples! Appleloosa was destroyed?” she says in worry.

"There was no life anywhere near,” you regretfully inform. “The town and everyone in it had already died. All that was left were the ruins, and a pillar honoring the dead.”

The girls begin to scrunch towards one another subconsciously at that.

"This was a universe where The Doctor died before meeting me, and since he was never there to tell me to stay in Ponyville as Tennant, I never left Appleloosa after the Gala.”

"So..." Applejack says trying to put the pieces together.

"So all of you tracked me down, and we fought as always. But this time…” you look to Nightshade and pull her close to you. “I lost everything…”

"Nightshade," Twilight breathes out and you nod.

“Her name was scratched into that pillar by that other me…right below all of your names,” you tell them and they all look apprehensive.

“So…you killed us?” Rainbow chokes out.

“Yes…I saw through his past like it was my own. Nightshade died in his arms, and when Fluttershy tried to apologize I…he truly lost his mind in the most broken way possible,” you say with a shiver. “In that universe, Nightmare Moon and him never reconciled, she never became Selena…and when that Bugze broke, their minds merged into something twisted. They became The Nightmare, and he killed all of you…” Your eyes then land on the serious faced Pinkie Pie and you wince.

“Well, almost all of you.”

The mares momentarily break from their horrified shock and follow your line of sight to Pinkie who still looks at you sadly.

“Pinkie survived?” Twilight asks. You don’t take your eyes off the Pink mare as she continues to look through you and remember your confession during the Crystal Fair.

“Physically, yes despite missing two forelegs,” you say as you remember what she did in the aftermath to the hive. “But honestly, I would still say Pinkie Pie died, because Pinkamena The Pink Death... isn't you at all, not in the slightest."

“The Pink Death?” Rarity inquires sounding horrified by the implications.

“Yes, I met her later, but she will always be one of the biggest factors that still sticks with me from that otherworld. Covered in scars, flat mane, metallic arm, armed to the teeth with blades…and never truly smiling.”

“That image is giving me some serious flashbacks to when you went nuts before your surprise birthday party,” Rainbow says looking to the Pink mare beside her.

“I did go pretty nuts then…but what he’s saying sounds like the other me fell even worse,” she points out.

“She did, heck she even said to my face that she was no longer Pinkie Pie because that mare would never have done what she’d done,” you agree.

“So this other Pinkie, she survived this terrible ordeal…why was she given the name the Pink Death?” Celestia asks hectically.

“Because she killed all of the changelings,” you answer and everyone gasps.

“Excuse me…she did what?” Luna asks in shock.

“She killed Chrysalis and the entire hive by herself. They’d mocked her when she came seeking allies on the other Celestia’s behalf, so she showed no mercy,” you say with a thousand yard stare.

The Elements all look at Pinkie, failing to grasp the concept of the bubbly mare doing something so horrific.

“But at that point, who could really blame her? The other me had already nearly killed most of the world,” you defend, and once more the shock and blood drained faces turn to you.

“The whole world?” Cadence trembles, hoping she misheard, but you dash her hopes.

“Yes…after I found out that that otherworld was the future of an alternate universe and not our future, we looked at every city and nation in Equestria, and they were all eradicated,” you say truthfully and they pale even more.

"T-that's... that's terrible!" Rarity shouts.

“Yes it was. The Everfree was burning, Ponyville was nothing but a crater, and every major city was just gone. All that was left was Canterlot.”

"And you did this all alone? Or more precisely, the other you?" Celestia asks with a disturbed look.

"More like ninety percent of it. The horde, or rather that universe’s Crimson Knights were still following that version of me and helping him destroy everything. That's one of the reasons I was so Tartarusbent on removing them from existence when I got back.”

“I…I just…” Luna sputters before shaking her head. “How had my sister and I not succeeded in stopping you. This other you?”

“Because you had no Element Bearers left,” Selena chimes in. “Only Pinkamena remained, and she was no longer worthy of her Element.”

"But... surely we could have-"

Selena cuts Luna off by slamming her hooves on the table, just as Sombra had done.

"You don't understand at all, Luna. Those three alicorns attempted to defeat them in battle many times, and it only resulted in more death, including that world’s Shining Armor,” she emphasizes and Cadence looks to the disturbed looking stallion. “By the time Bugze and I arrived in that universe, there were less than a thousand beings remaining. The only reason why Canterlot still stood was because your three counterparts essentially sold your souls for protection."

“Sold our souls?” Celestia asks and Selena frowns.

“In a matter of speaking, because you sought the help of Sombra, Discord and Lord Bucking Tirek,” she curses, and the princesses look like they’ve been struck in the face.

"That's impossible!" Celestia screams.

“But why Princess? Discord is working with us now and Sombra seems to be making-“ Twilight begins, but the sun Princess cuts her off.

"That may be true but there's no situation where I would allow Tirek of all beings to be freed from Tartarus!"

"But you had no choice," Selena continues. "There was no hint of The Nightmare slowing down any time soon, and Canterlot was all that remained.”

"Was Tirek that huge red monkey horse guy with the jacked up arms?" you ask.

"Yes," Selena says certainty. "He is one of the most dangerous creatures alive. Able to drain someone's magic like a snack and grow more powerful from it. It's extremely dangerous just to be near him. Just be thankful that's one opponent you never have to face my bug since he is in the depths of Tartarus."

“Wait…something about that’s itching at me,” Nightshade mumbles to herself lost in thought, but she is ignored.

"Ah yes, I remember when he first came to Equestria," Grandbuggy says in nostalgia. "You princesses sure are lucky his brother snitched on him to Starswirl before it was too late."

Somewhere

“Achoo!” the now fairly tall centaur sneezes mid magic drain of some random pony.

“Uh, bless you?” the pony guesses as the centaur rubs his nose.

"Ugh that was strange, felt like someone was talking about me."

"Maybe you're coming down with a cold? Probably from draining too much magic?" the pony says desperately trying to slip away.

"Hmm...Nah. But good try," Tirek says before sucking the rest of the poor pony's magic.

“Ah, that hits the spot. I need all the juice I can get if I wanna get to whatever’s going on in the north.”

“Insect-Ape!!!” Dr. Quacksalver roars as a scalpel misses the centaur’s head and embeds itself into a brick wall.

“Oh for buck’s sake!” the magic sucker curses as he gallops away from the relentless fruitloop.

Back at the Meeting

After telling them about infiltrating the city, the misunderstandings with the royals and Pinkie and gathering pieces for the magic collar and the part to fix the TARDIS, you get to the parts where The Nightmare invaded.

“And when we finally saw him, he was worse than you can imagine,” you say with a shudder. “He was a gibbering psychopath that craved for slaughter and he kept talking to this Luna plushie as if it were Nightshade.”

“Despite all this extra help from these gods and monster, the resistance failed miserably,” Selena narrates.

“Even though that Sombra had trained every unicorn in dark magic, down to the children, it didn’t help any of the other forces either,” you say with a frown.

“He trained children? On our orders?” Celestia says disturbed.

“Yes, in fact that one’s sister was one of his top,” Selena says pointing to Rarity who gapes in shock.

“Sweetie Belle learned dark magic?” she utters in horror and you nod. She then looks to Sombra and narrows her eyes. “Whatever we decide on you, I don’t believe I want my baby sister near you.”

“Heh, implying that I had the notion to do so,” he laughs and dismisses her.

"Um... What happened to Discord?" asks Fluttershy somewhat fearing the answer

"Are you sure you want to know? Is not going to be pretty" you ask and she nods.

“Discord was utterly erased,” Selena answers for you. “And none of the others faired better. Sombra's fears were turned against him, Tirek was stabbed through the chest and split open like a pea, and not even Celestia or Luna could bring him down.

“Yeah, you two even banished him to the moon and then tried to hurl the moon into the Sun, but he got out before that and tore the satellite into chunks before he started battling you. He eventually won against you two as well, even after he’d been severely weakened by Pinkamena.”

“The other me weakened him?” Pinkie asks.

“Yeah, with that collar thing the Doctor made. Pinkamena gave her life to put it on him…and at the end of it all, she was the only reason I survived,” you say truthfully.

They all don’t say a thing, but you can see as some of them can’t take too much more of the tale. Fluttershy and Rarity are shivering, Pinkie is looking depressed, and Rainbow and Applejack look like they don’t even want to ask anything more. Twilight of course is still willing to write, but Spike is preoccupying himself looking at the pictures on your phone so that he has something else to focus on.

The Princesses and Shining though still look willing to hear more.

“I, uh, I won’t describe how the other versions of you died, but what Selena said earlier is true. You were no match. The Nightmare was like nothing you can even begin to imagine…but thankfully it’s something you never have to witness first hoof. All because the Doctor decided to stick me in Ponyville against my will. Funny how things turn out huh?”

They all shiver at the thought of how such horrible things could have become reality with just the wrong decisions.

You then decided to try and wrap the story up as quickly as you can to ease their discomfort. You go over how the Dalek’s invaded, how your Shadow turned out to actually be The Nightmare’s and he helped you battle him, the epic fight that took you into outer space itself, and finally the one last punch you threw that ended it all.

“As he took his last breaths, he finally showed some remorse, so I put him to sleep with the Luna plushie to end his suffering…but it didn’t even matter in the end. Everything was still destroyed thanks to him and the Daleks, and there was only one survivor left.”

You look to Cadence at that and her eyes widen.

“Me?” she asks incredulously.

“Yes…you were quite literally the only living soul left from that planet,” Selena answers before she looks at you remorsefully. You both know what came next.

“Wait, wait, wait!” Cadence holds her hooves up as realization crosses her eyes. “Earlier on the field, those images on the screens, me stabbing you…Was that…?”

You let out a sigh and open up your shirt showing off the scar you’ve carried for two years.

“She stabbed me through the chest with Orichaclum,” you monotone and her features droop.

“That’s the wound that was bleeding when the Empire came back,” Shining says in remembrance as his wife is overwhelmed by the information.

“It took a long time to heal,” Nightshade answers the prince.

“I…she…Why? Why would she…?” Cadence sputters as many emotions grace her face. Fury, sadness, disbelief, misplaced guilt, and indignation all come and go at a rapid speed.

“She’d lost everything, her entire world in fact,” you defend Mia. “And I looked just like the monster who had done that to her.”

"And you survived that!?" Twilight asks in shock, looking very heartbroken that an alternate version of her sister in law could do that to you.

“Barely, and it’s because Selena sacrificed so much,” you say with gratitude towards said mare.

“We said before that my new form came about because I’d lost much of my power and life force saving Bugze,” she explains. “That’s because I poured every ounce of my being into keeping him alive, while at the same time defending him from any more blade strikes.”

“She shattered the orichalcum sword,” you say to put it into terms they can quantify and the magically inclined in the room look at her in awe.

“The amount of power output needed for such a feat is monumental,” Luna says with wide eyes.

“It’s suicidal is what it was,” Selena corrects and looks back to you warmly. “But I did not care for my own life at that moment, all I wanted was for him to live long enough for the Doctor to save him. So I gave him my everything.”

You grin back sadly at the mare who almost gave her life up for you and a comfortable warmth settles over you despite the depressing mood of the room.

"I’ll always owe you for that one," Grandbuggy says to your mare. "Thanks for keeping my boy alive."

“As I said, I have no regrets, and I would do I again in a heartbeat,” she informs. Now that the extent of what she did to save you settles you, you see as many make up their minds about the mare in your mind for the better.

“Did…” Cadence interrupts unsurely. “Did the other me perish from that sacrifice?”

You scratch the back of your neck at that and bite your lip. On the one hoof, Mia is alive and well, but on the other hoof she is her own pony now with no memory of the otherworld. Having that perspective breached could be catastrophic for both Cadences.

“She sort of did,” you admit vaguely and she raises a brow. “The otherworld Cadence still lives, but she has no memory of that world. All I can tell you is that the Doctor made her safe and happy after we all left.”

“But why did you leave?” Shining asks. “You had a time machine, so why didn’t you stop any of that from happening?”

“Because by the time the Doctor got to me, the crack in reality was closing and there ironically just wasn’t enough time to do anything,” you say with a sigh. “That’s why I’ll always carry the Nightmare with me in my heart, because ultimately, I couldn’t save that world, and it almost cost me someone very important.”

You take a moment to be thankful for your fortune even in the face of Grandbuggy’s curse to have come out on top. Celestia and Luna look at one another as you compose yourself before the Sun Princess lifts a wing and lights up her horn, revealing a red scar just underneath it.

“We know full well the price that’s paid when it comes to orichalcum,” Celestia tells you. Both sides of the table gasp at this display. It’s not nearly as gruesome as yours, but you can tell it must have been just as painful.

“Who did that to you Princess?” Twilight asks in worry.

“An assassin, one of many throughout the ages, though this one struck when I was younger and more naïve,” she admits before turning to her sister. “If it weren’t for Luna, I might not have been here today.”

At that Luna looks squarely at Selena and asks,

“Do you remember that day?”

“…Yes, I do,” Selena answers.

“Then you remember how I poured my everything into keeping her alive till Starswirl arrived. That too cost me some power and life force, which is why my sister dwarves me in size,” she explains. “And to think that you would do so again…”

“We protect the ones we love, do we not Luna?” Selena asks her sister, and surprisingly a small smirk forms on Luna’s muzzle.

“Indeed we do, Selena,” she answers. Just using her name in a conversational tone echoes louder than if she had used the Royal Canterlot Voice, and everyone at the table knows it.

Nightshade looks around the table hopefully and you see as the Elements all glance at each other, all having the same silent conversations. All of them are making up their minds about you and your family.

“And that’s our story,” you say, bringing everything to a close. “I’m sure there’s a million other little details we could talk about in time, but that’s been the major hits. We’ve had our ups and downs, and none of us are without sin, but can you really call us monsters after everything?”

There is silence after a moment as all of the Princesses look to one another and the Elements.

“Your tale has filled in many gaps in our knowledge, and it truly has helped us understand all of you,” Celestia starts, before smirking. “And after the events of today, I would be hard pressed to call you monsters.”

“Well…that’s a big step up,” you snark back and she giggles.

“I for one believe that in light of all this new information, that you should be given the chance of peace,” Luna announces and your side of the table beams.

Your heart lightens as you hear the Night Princess say that as Twilight chimes in.

“My friends and I especially feel that full forgiveness should be given for any past crimes against us…and to finally have them stop running,” she says looking to you with a happy grin. You feel weightless at that as you look to all the other Elements.

Applejack grins widely, Dash looks at you proudly, Pinkie Pie is smiling once more, and even Rarity looks rather pleased with your group.

“And if this Captain fellow has the means, I think it would be wonderful to have Nightshade be able to hug her mother in real life,” Fluttershy says with conviction. You and her lock eyes at that and she gives you a small, meek smile. After everything that’s happened between the two of you, she still has your back and wishes for your happiness.

And that’s why she’s Kindness, you think as you tilt your head in acknowledgement to your longest friend outside of Cadence.

“I’ve always felt that way for Bugze, to be at peace and for all of this to finally be over” Cadence adds. “And I came to feel the same for his family. As for Sombra…” she trails off and glares down the former tyrant who holds his breath.

“…There is still much for you to atone for,” she says authoritatively. “I think I speak for everypony when I say we recognize the good you’ve done, but I feel there is still more to come.”

“I second that notion,” Twilight nods and looks to Sombra. “I don’t think he is beyond redemption, but he must earn it more.”

All the others around the table voice their same opinion at that and you, Selena, Nightshade and Grandbuggy look to the dark stallion who looks rather confused at this sentiment.

“So what are you saying then? Am I to be confined to the dungeons?” he inquires.

“I think what everyone’s getting at is that we put you on probation, in a manner of speaking,” Shining explains.

“Preferable outside the Crystal Empire since many of the citizens still are traumatized by you,” Cadence says. “But yes, I feel like Equestria as a whole could make use of your talents instead of putting you in a cell.”

She then takes a deep breath and sighs.

“After all Sombra, you did save my friend and his family, which in turn means you are also responsible for saving not only Appleoosa, but The Crystal Empire and Equestria as well thanks to today. And for that, you have my gratitude.”

You briefly miss having fingers, because you would have snatched your phone from Spike to take a picture of the dumbfounded expression on Sombra’s face.

“I…I don’t know what to say,” he stammers.

“Then don’t say anything until after we’ve worked together to get the Alicorn Amulet out of Nightshade,” she responds back and he closes his mouth.

“Very well then,” he nods, still in disbelief. Cadence then looks to her aunts and gestures from them to Selena and Sombra.

“I believe that Bugze requested something earlier on the field?”

They both nod at that before they bow their heads to Selena and Sombra which causes their mouth to fall even more.

“Bugze was correct, we owe you two an apology as well,” Celestia admits.

“Even though our history is full of scars, the aid you’ve given shows that you aren’t above saving,” Luna says before they both say,

“We apologize on behalf of the country of Equestria.”

Your two companions don’t say anything to this, still wide eyed that this day has actually come. After the Princesses raise their heads, Luna looks back at Selena.

“I may not be comfortable now or ever in claiming you as my sister,” she says to your mare before frowning. “And we can end our involvement with you forever if you wish…but you did strike a chord in your recollections.”

“Oh?” Selena asks with a raised brow.

“I did abandon you the first chance I got,” Luna continues. “It may not have been healthy for either of us, but we were there for each other when we were laid low. The things we did were horrible, but I understand your feelings of betrayal…If you so wish it, we could start over?”

Selena intakes a quick gasp of air at that questioning look on Luna’s face, before she steels herself.

“…Perhaps we may in the future, though we don’t have to do so immediately. I too still have reservations about you both…but I won’t say no,” she says and both Celestia and Luna nod at this. Twilight then takes center stage.

“I hope that in time, we can all build a friendship together. I know it won’t be easy after these past four years, but I feel like we can make it if we try,” she says with optimistic hope and you smile.

“You have no idea how long I’ve hoped to hear that,” you say truthfully as you let out a laugh of relief before hugging Nightshade and Grandbuggy to you.

“And I’ve already been friends with you guys already,” Nightshade points out with a smirk. “But if you can help Sombra get this stupid Amulet out of my skin then I’ll love you all forever.”

“Right, that should be our main priority,” Twilight nods. “Though perhaps we should take a break first after all this talking?”

“We shouldn’t take too long though,” Cadence urges. “We can’t expend energy forever keeping the barrier up, the Crystal Heart needs to be put back on it’s pedestal. And if we’re to do that, we have to make arrangements for Bugze and everyone else to vacate the city just in case.”

“I can guarantee that the heart is still going to hurt me regardless of what new leaf we’ve turned over,” Sombra says.

“Yeah, the stupid thing hurt me when I got to close with the shards in me,” Nigthsade nods and the Princesses purse their lips.

“Perhaps we should arrange for transportation to Canterlot as soon as possible,” Celestia suggests. “Cadence and Shining can put the Heart back once they’re outside the radius?”

“But who else is going to go with them?” Luna asks. “Even though the day has been saved, this is still an international incident thanks to the different countries’ teams.”

“And we’ve still got to address the nation because that whole thing was a live broadcast,” Twilight mutters. “Not to mention we still have Flag Burner and his lackeys to interrogate and…”

And like that, everyone on the other side of the table start prepping for the damage control they’ll have to do before things are neatly wrapped up.

Ponygamer12’s Comment

Meanwhile, you just sit, still holding onto Nightshade and Grandbuggy, with Selena and Sombra at your sides.

“This is more than I could have ever hoped for,” you admit, getting a bit choked up and Grandbuggy chuckles.

“It’s exactly what you deserve boy. After all the crap you’ve been through, you’ve earned this.”

“You can say that again,” Nightshade says wistfully as she looks at the other group talking semantics. “So…what’s the plan now?”

“Well first and foremost, we’re gonna get that amulet out of you-“ Sombra starts, but she interrupts him.

“I meant after that,” she corrects.

“Well, if they’re allowing it, which it sounds like they are, I will finally have a body my precious,” Selena says and she nods.

“Okay, and after that too,” she corrects again. “It’s a given that we’re gonna be together again…but what does that mean now that we’re not on the run?”

“What do you mean honey?” you ask curiously.

“I mean, after we save the sirens and help Frost and all that timey wimey stuff, where are we going to be a family together?” she asks. You open your mouth to speak, but you stop.

Where are we going to go? You think to yourself. If we’re no longer wanted, that means we can go anywhere and we won’t have to hide anymore. We can live…anywhere.

The answer seems obvious to you, but before you can say it, your daughter speaks up again.

“And before you say Appleloosa…I mean, I love that place just as much as you guys do…” she admits sheepishly. “But…I really like Ponyville too.”

You are taken aback by that, but you can understand why. Her friends all live there. In fact, a lot of yours do as well. You glance back at the Elements of Harmony. It’s been a strange four years, some of them being on better terms than others, but they are now definitively your friends. Moreso, some of them are family.

“I’ve got to agree with Shade,” Grandbuggy says. “I don’t know where you lot will end up, but I’m going to be spending the rest of my days with the mare I love."

Your eyes linger on Applejack and you think about Applebloom, Big Mac and Granny Smith. An entire loving household that would welcome you all.

“I…I personally don’t care the physical location,” Selena admits. “As long as I am with Nightshade and you my bug, I will be at home.”

“As for me, it seems I won’t be outside of the crown’s eye for some time,” Sombra points out. “So do not let my situation affect your decision.”

You take in all of their points of view, and you bite onto your hoof. The decision on where to live is not one you’ve ever had to think about because it’s a long term decision. Only now do you have the option of such a choice.

“…I think we should just table that for now,” you cop out. “Before we figure out where we live for the rest of our lives…let’s just enjoy the gifts we’re going to be given and just relax with one another for as long as we can?”

They all think over that proposition before they all grin.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right Daddy,” Nightshade agrees. “We’ve still got a lot of stuff to get through first…but really, I still vote Ponyville when the time comes.”

You chuckle at that and bring her closer to you.

“Well whatever happens, we won’t be making that decision alone,” you say as you watch the other group already planning to help with your future.

We won’t be alone, even if the past tries to catch up with us, we have friends now…you think optimistically.

And then the door opens to the room.

The Present

No way… you think incredulously as you stare at the folded piece of paper. Throughout the last four years, you’d received a few of these notes, some with advice, some with gifts, and other times just with news. You hadn’t received one in the human world, but Nightshade did while you were gone.

My friend…could that have actually been him? You think wearily. The stallion you’d just talked with was unhinged and creepy and passive aggressive, so could that really be the same person who gave you the Inventory, your scarf, that chainsaw, and Nightshade the Amulet?

But why? Why would he be here? And why would he just leave? You wonder as you shuffle forward, your eyes fixed solely on the piece of paper, not even daring to look into the cell he gestured to.

Once you reach the stationary, you slowly reach out, pick it up, and then open it up.

Dear Bugze,

Welcome Home good buddy. Did you really think it was going to be that simple? Buck No! Showing off your heroics and making nice with everyone? When has it ever gone smoothly for you? Nice job beating up Flag Burner though, that guy was an uptight blowhard. But you’ve forgotten one simple thing Bugze, he’s not the only enemy from your past.

Right now the Legion of Doom is buzzing all around the Empire, and Sombra’s adorable squeeze thinks she can make things right. But she can’t, and the reason why is because you’re involved.

Your best chance of survival is to abandon everyone and just flee because you have no real power anymore. You’re just a weak, flightless, magically incompetent changeling once more, and bugs like that don’t save the day. So give up on Nightshade, give up on Selena, give up on Grandbuggy, and give up on Sombra if you want to survive.

But even if you do, which I highly doubt because you’re dumb like that, I can assure you that we will meet again. You’re coming down to the End of Your Luck after all.

Inevitably, Unrelentingly, and Uncompromisingly,

You Have A Rendezvous With Death.

Do Not Fail That Rendezvous,

A Friend.

Your hooves begin to shake as you read the ending again. The haunting poem you’d heard in the human world, once more arriving to mock you.

How?! How Could He Know About That?! you think as your mind becomes a frenzy of fear and anxiety. And what’s he talking about abandoning everyone?! I can’t do that! And what Legion of Doom?! What enemies from the pa…

You trail off as your memory finally returns fully and you recall what happened at the end of the meeting.

“No…” you whisper denial. Your head then slowly rotates to the cell your “Friend” wanted you to look into, and the blood drains from your face and you begin to whimper at the horrifying proof before you. “No, please no…”

Flashback

Down With Chrysalis’s Comment

BrownDog77’s Comment

As the door opens, a familiar looking stallion walks in.

“Oh hey, it’s Jack!” you say in surprise and excitement. Everyone else at the table turns to face the newcomer.

“Ah, Captain, there you are,” Celestia sighs in relief.

“You went and missed the whole meeting,” Luna chides. But strangely, the stallion says nothing as he keeps walking foreword. His eyes are squarely on you and only you, and a small strange grin is on his face.

“Uh…Jack?” you question as he gets closer.

Something is wrong here, Selena says inside your mind, making warning bells go off, but you’re not sure why.

“Wait! That ain’t Jack! That’s-“ Grandbuggy tries to warn, but he is too late as the stallion holds up a weird mish mash looking rifle, with three very familiar looking Red Gems embedded into it, at you and pulls the trigger. A wave of orange energy streaks out from the muzzle and washes through you and you feel as your psyche is ripped in three separate directions.

“AAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHH!!!” you, Selena and Sombra all cry out in unison as your body twists and contorts and you feel the presences of your companions ripped from your mind.

“Boy!!!”

“Bugze!!!”

“Daddy!!!”

Several voices cry out at once, but they’re exclamations do nothing to stop the pain. A large blast discharges from around you, shattering the tables and chairs, and knocking back everyone around you. In the midst of the explosion, you feel as your head hits the cold, crystalline ground.

Your ears ring, and your vision is spotty and you feel as though you haven’t slept in three years. Lying upon the cold hard ground, you struggle to open your eyes, but when you do, you see the figure of the mare who’s been in your head for over 4 years lying on the ground next to you surrounded by the debris.

“S…Selena?” you struggle to say. At your voice, she grimaces as though in pain, and her eyes faintly twitch, but remain closed.

“Bugze?” she asks, sounding lost and confused.

“What…what just…” you struggle to say as your eyes blink droopily.

“Yes! Yes! He’s breathing! He’s back! Thank the gods!” you hear a mare’s voice cry out in triumph. Looking to the side, you see Sombra, looking just as rough as you feel, but he is being cradled by a crystal pony mare with a surgeon’s symbol cutie mark.

“Sombra, it’s me,” she says in a soothing tone and you seem him grimace with his eyes closed.

“Hope?” he whispers and the mare beams.

“Yes Sombra, it’s Hope,” she says as she begins brushing his mane with her hoof. “I’m back and I’m never going to leave you again…”

Hope? What? Are we all passed out? What’s going on? You think deliriously as your eyes dart about. You see Nightshade and Grandbuggy and all of your allies lying groggily on the floor or embedded within the walls with smoke coming off of them. What is going o…

Your eyes land on Captain Jack, the strange weapon smoking at his hooves and he is giving you a cruel, victorious grin as a part of the roof collapses, as do a few of the walls. But it’s not Jack you realize as the eyes shift color, and it’s even more cemented when he opens his mouth and a familiar voice comes out.

“Hello Lover…”

Her voice sends ice water through your veins, but you are far too weak to do anything about it. As the smell of charred ozone wafts from the device that shot you, the room begins to get darker, and not just because your eyes start to droop. Several black forms with buzzing blue insect wings swarm into the room and land upon the knocked out forms of those who were caught up in the magical backdraft.

“You…” you gasp as your vision begins to fade. Jack’s form flashes in a burst of green fire, becoming taller and more slender and more hauntingly beautiful.

“Me,” Chrysalis says with longing, maddened eyes as she reaches out a hoof and caresses your face.

“For…buck’s…sake…” you groan as the blackness overtakes you and you lose consciousness.

The Present

“No…No…” you mouth as your memory finally catches back up. The sight within the cell helps boot it up nicely. From ceiling to floor are several individuals wrapped up in green cocoons. Of the ones you can see, you spy the familiar visages of Captain Jack, Mia, Aqua, and the CMC.

With your heart hammering in your chest, you drop the piece of paper and begin back up.

“No way. There’s just no way,” you plead miserably as your head twitches all around. Now that you’re actively looking into the darkened cells, you see other figures in the ones you’ve passed.

You see Ahuizotl, Daring Do, Ember, Greta, Garble, Frost, Adagio, Aria and Sonata all gooped, unconscious and dreaming within their tiny prison. You can also spy in another cell the recently beaten Flag Burner (sans his metallic limbs) and his Black Suns you captured.

And yet in many more, you see countless crystal guards and castle staff, and then to top things off, you find Celestia, Luna and Grandbuggy in a room, swaddled in the thickest cocoons yet.

She’s back! She’s back and she’s ruining everything! You panic as sweat starts to drip from your brow. You reach out for the cell door and attempt to open it, but it is locked solid.

“No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!” you chant as you uselessly tug on the door…but you are nowhere near strong as you once were.

“This can’t be happening! This can’t be-Hmmph!” your mouth is suddenly covered by a hoof as someone puts you in a chokehold from behind.

“I knew my alarm picked up something,” a feminine voice says in your ear.

“Mmpphhmmggh!” you grunt as you try to break out of her grip, but you are still shackled and weak.

“Be silent! If you don’t want Chrysalis to realize you’re awake then just relax and be quiet!” she whispers harshly in your ear.

“Hmm?” you question as you attempt to tilt your head back and look at her, but all you see is a hint of bluish purple in the darkness.

“I can take you to your daughter and wife, just hold still,” she orders and you immediately halt your movements.

Who is this? you wonder just as you see a faint glow illuminate the hallway, and suddenly you are teleported. Your eyes are immediately hit by the sudden increase of light and you start to blink rapidly. And as your eyes get used to the lights, you realize you are in an opulent bedroom, and laying in the giant bed is a dark stallion with a red horn.

“Hmm?!” your eyes widen as Sombra breathes slowly, dreaming.

“Your mare is in the next room hidden behind the bookcase with your daughter watching over her,” the mare says pointing your head towards a fancy looking bookcase. “Chrysalis has been searching for them, but I’ve kept them safe since neither she nor Sombra have awoken yet. Now, with that in mind, if I lower my hoof and let you go will you promise to stay quiet?”

“Mmhmm, Mmhmm!” you nod vigorously and she sighs.

“Alright good, we don’t want to draw attention to ourselves,” she says as she lets go of your mouth and neck.

“Blah!” you sputter as you intake some air. You then turn to her…and see a purple crystal unicorn mare with a light blue mane and blue eyes with a surgeon symbol as a cutie mark.

Your eyes widen as you recall this mare holding Sombra as you blacked out.

“Hold up, you’re…” you point in disbelief.

“Radiant Hope,” she nods. “And you’re Bugze the Changeling, AKA the Hooded Offender and many other aliases.”

“I…wha…?” you sputter as you are still in utter shock and disbelief. "I still don’t understand anything. What exactly is going on?”

“The Empire is under the command of myself and my allies, that is until Sombra wakes up,” she says conversationally. “But Chrysalis has been undermining my authority for her own selfish quest of vengeance looking for your daughter and partner.”

You just look at her, lost and confused before your gaze goes to Sombra, and then to the bookshelf she claims hides the room where Selena and Nightshade are.

“Look, I understand why you might not want to help me, but the longer we take, the longer Chrysalis keeps delaying my plans,” she says with a frown. “She’s dead set on finding the Mare in the Moon, but since this operation was my idea, I decided I didn’t want her to.”

You put a hoof to your still pounding skull and shake your head.

“Why?”

“Because I came here to free the only friend I ever had, not to kill anypony,” she says with grim eyes. “Flim, Flam, Iron Will and Lightning Dust feel the same, so that’s why we haven’t let her touch the Elements, Cadenza or Armor either.”

You look at the crystal mare as she gazes longingly at the slumbering stallion, and now that you’ve had a chance to grasp it, he really is flesh and blood again.

“…Why are you helping me?” you ask and she frowns.

“Because I saw that broadcast when Sombra helped you fight. I still have many questions, but I’m willing to help get the Alicorn Amulet out of your daughter,” she says resolutely and your eyes widen. “But in order to do that, Sombra needs to wake up and we need to free the Umbrum without Chrysalis or anypony else getting in the way.”

Before you can say anything to this declaration, you hear the scraping of wood as the bookshelf slides forward slightly.

“I knew I heard your voice! Daddy!” Nightshade exclaims as she comes bounding towards you.

“Nightshade!” you say in joy as your little girl wraps her hooves around your chest, and you hug her as best you can with your hooves still chained.

“You’re finally awake! It’s only been a few days but it’s felt like forever!” she exclaims.

“I know honey, I’m just so glad to see you. I feel like I’m still in some sort of nightmare,” you say as a few tears leak out and you hug her tighter.

“Please keep your voices down,” Hope urges and Nightshade clams up.

“Oh, right, sorry Hope,” she apologizes and looks to you. “Things are crazy out there Dad. Everyone’s captured, there’s changelings everywhere, and it’s getting cold outside.”

You briefly glance out a window, which you now see is somewhere high up in the Crystal Palace and see snowflakes falling gently outside.

“But on the plus side, Sombra and Mommy got their bodies now,” she says trying to give some good news. Glancing at the opening behind the bookcase, you see the form of Selena as she’s looked for the last two years, wrapped in blankets and sleeping soundly. A real body in the real world.

“Yeah, I can see that,” you say, with a part of you feeling happy, but it is overwhelmed by the unyielding pressure of things going to Tartarus the minute you were pardoned.

You then look to the mare who apparently started all of this, as she sits at Sombra’s bedside.

“Alright, now that I know you’re not full of it, start talking,” you demand.

WHAT DO YOU DO?

Reunited Ending:

Author's Note:

And whatever she has to say, let’s hope it doesn’t take another 87 pages (90 including this A/N)

Hey Hive Mind,

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that this was the longest chapter we’ve had. I guess recapping over a million and a half words would do that. But anyway, sorry if you felt slogged down reading this, but hey, at least Bugze and Family finally got forgiven right? True everyone got captured by changelings and everything, but a victory’s a victory

But yeah, after 7 years of being a magical force to be reckoned with, Bugze has been stripped down to nearly his basics, just like Kratos at the beginning of every God of War game. Selena and Sombra are out of his head, and that means the Nightmare Cloak is retired after a long eventful career.

Our buggy boy is relatively weak again…but perhaps he still has access to genetically enhanced modifications…

But anyway, we are now in a new arc based upon the Siege of The Crystal Empire. I’ll throw in some synopsis videos for you, but just know things have obviously changed, such as Sombra’s attitude, Chrysalis being a Yandere, and of course Bugze and Nightshade just being there in general.

So tell me friends, with Changelings everywhere, and all the other main characters captured and out of commission, what is the plan?

See you next chapter everyone,
Brown Dog.

SIEGE OF THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE COMIC ARC

BUGZE’S INVENTORY (CURRENTLY MISSING)

Weapons

Jet Stream Sam Sword (Reversed High Frequency Blade)

Knock Out Luna Plushie

Ninja Stars (15)

Power Glove (Plasmid/Vigor Channel with Grappling Hook Attachment.

Second Law: (Air Shotgun)

Tazer

Hover Board: (Catches Fire For Like, No Reason)

Disguises (Human)

Awesome JoJo Outfit: Currently Wearing (Jotora’s Outfit from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure)

Smokey Joe Outfit: (Rain Slicker, Smelly Do Rag with Weed symbols)

Disguises (Equine)

Baker Sylvester Tennant (Brown overcoat, Yell and black striped pants, White panama hat, face mask, 4^th doctor scarf)

Crimson Vengeance: (Alucard Hat, Immortan Joe Mask, Deadpool shirt, Vash the Stampede Coat, red pants)

El Hunko (Fancy Clothes with purple top hat

Hooded Offender Cloak

Stetson Hat with Orange Bandana

Miscellaneous

Blueprints: CHS, Crystal Prep

Bounty Hunter License

Brown Money Pouch: (45 Bits, a Few Hundred Human Dollars)

Cell Phone

Free Filly Scout Cookies For Life Card

Gameboy (Human Equivalent of Joy Boy)

Grandbuggy and Granny Smith Photo

Grandbuggy with Your Mother Photo

Instant Mail Transfer Container: (Cadence Direct Line)

Multi-cable

Patching Supplies (Vice-Grips, Duct Tape, WD-40)

Pink Lover’s Jewell Necklace

Powers and Spells List

Sapphire Shores Signed Photo (Probably Worth a Lot)

Solar Powered Charger

Trixie’s Black and White Bear Plushie: (Never Forget)

Potion Stash

Healing Potion (6)

Molotov Cocktail (3)

Stink Bomb (3)

Transformation/Disguise Potion (4)

NIGHTSHADE’S INVENTORY

Weapons

Power Pole combined with Boomstick (Black Staff with Red Crystal. Causes shockwaves when slammed)

Miscellaneous

Assorted Movies, Videogames and Videogame Systems

Mangle Prime: Fusion of Plush Mangle and the Mangle Head = Double the Lovability.

Comments

[Haoryu Changer]

https://imgur.com/a/BMiUHDW

Ah, excellent...

[BrownDog77]

10780625
Huh Well it has happened before, but it always went away like after an hour because it was just the website being funky. Though I do hope it actually stays up there this time

[WARGAMES]

can at least one person be named meteor?

[Loganic]

Bugze should have seen this coming.
Anyway.
We see either a perspective change or a flashback to Chrysalis being obsessed with Bugze creeping literally everyone out.

[Puzzling Frost]

Great chapter, I loved every second of it. And DWC’s character was unnerving. So perfect XD. And hope doesn’t know about the umbrum’s real forms yet either. A great opportunity for Bugze hoping he can help everyone but make things far worse heheheheh also we get to do something to the comics didn’t actually use flim and flam, Lightning dust, and iron will to save the day! Rather than have them drop off the face of the earth and become irrelevant.

[Puzzling Frost]

We need to have Bugze interact with Thorax and Pharynx. It’s literally the best and only opportunity we have to do it.

[Kichi]

One of the best chapters, it was a good background of what happened until now, of course not everything could be put, but even so it was a great chapter.

P.S: Maybe Later I put the post

[Ponygamer12]

Bugze should ask radiant hope what happened to him and his friends and family and how long they been out. Then he should ask why she wants to now help bugze out as she was helping chrysalis in capturing him and as well what is the plan and as well try to find some sort of weapons or tools to make up the fact that he does not any of his items as well trying to see if any powers he have are left maybe transformation or the skills he learned that doesn't require any of his items like no shadow kick or fus ro dah.

[roker12]

There's no time but.... come on there's always time for loved ones.
Gosh Selena finally has a bloody body, I mean I know she's asleep but just go over to her and give her a hug! (Oh my god wake up damn you, we need all the firepower we can muster! ) No no, must be calm about this... just let me 'daww' a little after all these years of falling in love with a voice in your head she's finally reaaaaaaaaaaaaal aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Also these plasmids still in him... could very much so be useful. mmm, maybe our 'powerless' bug isn't really so powerless? Considering human Bugze could still muster his flames, let's see a fire burn once again within our favorite bug.

[Ello Calebero]

He's been nerfed so stealth section.

outfit and weapon loadout: nobody cloak, jetstream sam sword, shurikens, power glove(with grappling hook) for maximum ninja-ness

First things first
________________________
Ask hope if she has the keys to the other cells, if not vice-grips, duct tape and wd 40

specifically for luna to find out what's wrong with Sombra and Selena

place both of them in the inventory if necessary

The empire looks like world war mlp is going on. Spotlights, airships, and an alarming amount of stained glass windows depicting changelings, and posters spouting propaganda litter the streets.

Proceed to slowly stealth through the empire, distracting people with coins, and grappling across rooftops.
Maybe using the taser, your rusty martial arts (falcon punch, shadow kick, element bending, stalliongrad blizzard), and only the kindlyest of would you's if found.

insert cabbages, pinkie clone, and I couldn't think of a reference

break out the umbra and save the day

OR THATS THE PLAN!

What's more likely to happen I that bugze will either fail on the way and have the whole of the crystal empire on his tail, find out that chrysalis LET bugze escape just to mess with him. Or, my personal favorite, is about to succeed or is along the way when he runs into sin and crew! dun dun dun

Maybe all three depending on how it goes.
________________________________________________________

I have to say bugze is surprisingly well equipped as a ninja despite being the least stealthy bug on the planet

[Jayo Jack]

10781407
Doing that could help them out a lot.

[Jayo Jack]

10782260
He can still do the RCV for the shout, right?

[Zapper Frost]

I forgot to post this before this chapter came out, but I wonder when they’re going to realize that Bugze being BST means that he was telling the truth during the whole cutie pox incident, and that subsequently means that he did, in fact, beat Contra without cheats

[Ello Calebero]

10782483
He should considering it was in a self help book as stated in the chapter

[Down with Chrysalis]

So before anyling can really discuss anything, two loud voices start approaching the room from outside the door. Its just loud enough that you can here them discussing the usual henchmen complaints you would here from a Arkhay game, through strangely enough it seems like there...complaining about Chrysalis. Specifically her mindset towards a certain 'traitor' to their cause. Course you would have been confused and shocked that changelings would so freely discuss this kind of talk, but then you supposed just because they remind loyal to Chrysalis doesn't mean the breaking of the Hive Mind didn't influence them and gave them some sort of independent though.

Course before you could think too much on this the voices get closer and before you know it the door slams open and in walk two changeling guards, whose conversation comes to a dead halt upon seeing you and the others. There's a few moments of tense silence before the one in the front yells 'TRAITOR' and tries to charge at you, but is stopped by Hope.

She tries to sweet talk her way out of things, but its clear neither of the guards are buying her bs. To make things worse they say they've been ordered to secure Hope on orders by the Supreme Ruler Empress Queen of the World Chrysalis for treason, much to Hopes shock. Before things could escalate the Changeling's wonders aloud why their even bothering to talk, since Hope is only good at support magic, you have no power, and thanks to Chrysalis's meddling the magic dampener is back online and only targeting non-changelings (again much to Hope's shock).

At this Bugze stares at his hoof for a few moments before gaining a sly smirk, much to the two Changelings confusion. When the more aggressive of the two asks him why he looks so sly, you say,

"Oh I don't know fellas, its just that...I feel like you will find it quit shocking at just how 'powerless' I really am!"

With that said you thrust your hoof out, a cascade of blue lighting flying from your outstretched limb and zapping the surprised guards. Their bodies contort and spasm as the electricity flies through them as they stutter in pain (like in a cartoon). Eventually you stop your attack and the guards breath out a cloud of smoke before both collapsing to the ground, unconscious.

Hope is shocked by this since she figured you were powerless while Nightshade does a bit of cheering for you. When Hope stutters out how you were able to do that, you just smugly say.

"Genetic mutation beats magic any day, look it up! Speaking of which..."

You slam your hoof into the ground, your Bucking Bronko activity and lifting a surprised Hope into the air. Both her and Nightshade shout in surprise, but you ignore it as you slowly walk over to a annoyed Hope who is questioning your motives after you said you believe her.

"Oh I do believe you, but I just wanted to make one thing clear with you."

Nightshade gasps in shock for some reason as Hope flinches, but you don't pay it much mind as you continued growling out,

"From what I can understand, you are the sole reason that crazy nutcase is free with her army, and why my family's happy ending was robbed from us, again, at the vey last moment! Once this is all over, we are going to have a very serious talk about how one can be dumber then the dirt they walk on. Then you can have a chat with Selena when she wakes up, then the Princesses, then the Elements, and then your going to give a public apology to the entire Crystal Kingdom for invading their home with a mentally unstable changeling queen and her army, and only then am I going to help you get a happy ending with ol'Sombro, got it!"

Nightshade seeming gaps at you in either awe or shock after the end of you rant, and Hope gives only a small soundly 'eep' in response to your threat. That's enough to satisfy you as the effects of Bucking Bronco wear off, and you sit down with a satisficed smile.

"Good! Now then..." You look over to Nightshade and give a pleasant smile as you causally ask, "Sweetie, how would you like to help Daddy hide some changelings in some cocoons?"

You daughter happily agrees, which is probably something you should worry about, but you don't think too much on it. All this time you were unaware of the strange orange glow that was coming from your face during your anger...

Also, Bugze question who the buck Lighting Dust and Iron Will are and why the Flim Flam brothers even got involved in this in the first place.

---

So after they stash the changelings away Bugze and Hope start figuring out a plan to escape. As much as they don't like to admit it, their powerless to stop Chrysalis while their inside the Kingdom. The only change of winning is escaping to rally a stronger fighting force, or at least breaking the magic dampener (again) so when Selena and Sombra awaken they can cause some chaos.

As the three of you (with a unconscious Selena on your back( make your way past the cells Nightshade makes note that some of the pods around them are suspiciously empty. This confuses Hope, since everypony was stored here except for the Princess and the Elements, who were hung up in the throne room as trophies for Chrysalis to gloat with. You grumble how yeah, that's defiantly something she would do. Through you could have gone without knowing that Chrysalis had constructed a throne made out of other pods for her 'One True King.'

Hope questions you if anypony could escape from inside the pods, to which you don't really know since you were never the brightest grub of the bunch. You do know that they couldn't hold fellow Changelings since it would only put them in a couple hour sleep due to their nature, so its likely that your Grandbuggy was being held somewhere else. You question Hope if he was with the other 'trophies' in the throne room, but she admits that she hasn't seen the old bug since they first captured him. This worries you, and you decide it would be best to search around to see if you could find the old bug since with his help it would be far easier to escape.

Hope thinks this is a poor idea, but you remind her that they can't save anyone else besides him at this point and that they need all the help they can get. Nightshade is confused why they can't get the others out, to which both you and Hope explain how even if they had the keys to unlock the cells (cause of course only your cell was unlocked, figures) and get them out of the pods the amount of time they've been in there would keep them out of action for at least a whole day to regain their senses. They're already carrying one dead weight (Hope's words), they can't afford to carry any others.

So with a heavy heart and a makeshift plan to find your Grandbuggy (or at least find the others Hope mentioned earlier) you all leave that section of the dungeon to sneak around.

---

10780882

As you are all sneaking around you occasionally have to hide in some empty rooms or in the shadows from patrolling Changelings. As you do you hear the local gossip, and it paints a not-so-pretty picture of Chrysalis current mental state.

Chrysalis has gained the title of 'The Mad Queen,' 'The Crazed Tyrant,' and the 'Queen of Twisted Love.' That last one stuck out for you, as while you aren't the sharpest bug in the hive you do remember some things. One of them being how tainted love, of obsession hunger and scorn, is borderline poisonous to changelings. Consuming the stuff only drives them mad and turns them feral and is almost as bad as self feeding on your own or other changeling emotions. Sadly, based on what some of the changelings were saying Chrysalis's been dipping into her own supply more often then not, and the pit in your gut only grows deeper as you realize just truly how far gone the queen has gone.

It only gets worse when Nightshade whisper just what the buck is wrong with this lady, and Hope decides to fill her in on how even the others were disturbed by her behavior. How during a meeting she suddenly blasted a changeling right out of the room for seemingly no reason, and when she asked her why she said that he had bad mouthed her 'one true beloved' and had to be punished. Course the changeling never said anything, and Chrysalis said she heard it through the Hive Mind...that no longer existed (How Hope and the others knew that was strange, but you were more focused on the pile of dread you were feeling to comment on it).

She had also turned an entire wing in the castle into a 'History of @#!%@@ & Chrysie's Love' with a whole lot of shrines and picture that portrayed a highly abridged and bias version of your childhood with her. As well as some 'art' that depicts you and her in some very not T rated positions that left you both heavily disturbed and disgusted (and thankfully Nightshade didn't question that further).

Needless to say 'Avoiding Chrysalis's' is now you highest priority, and that you fear for much more then just your life if you get caught.

---

Eventually after a good while of sneaking around and searching for Grandbuggy and Hope's group you end up with nothing and start quietly arguing with Hope. She believes that its a lost cause at this point to find them as they've likely been podded by now if Chrysalis had guards hunting her down, and that they should just find Bugze's Inventory and escaping.

You, of course, think that a dumb as tartuses reason and that you had to find your Grandbuggy and her friends before anything could happen to them. Hope tries to deny that their her friends, to which you scoff and say,

"Oh please, take it form personal experience but it is impossible to spend so much time with a single group of creatures without at least becoming frenemies with them. I should know, I've done it at least four times by now."

Hope scoffs at this and comments like how he's 'friends' with Sombra after drugging him for so long. You just roll your eyes at this and say, yeah, you are after all you've been through and...

"Besides, Nightshade's adopted him in all but legally as her uncle so at this point he's stuck with us. Through I guess that does make him my adopted brother, which I am strangely okay with for some reason."

"I'm sorry...what?"

Nightshade jumps onto Hope's back and gives her a bright smile as she says,

"You heard the bug, Sombra's my uncle and there's nothing you or the legal system or the laws of nature can say otherwise. Actually...*gasp* that means your my aunt! Two aunts in only one year, that has got to be a new record!"

Hope blushes at the implications at that and starts to stutter adorably, but you don't notice that as you absentmindedly mumble out,

"Now that I think about it, you think Sombra would be up for hosting the first family get together this year? I mean if we want him to get along with everyone I feel like him hosting would be the best choice."

"Wha...what do you mean!?"

Before you can respond you see Nightshade shake her head in the negative as you says,

"I don't think that will work Daddy. I mean if Uncle Sombra is living with us we'd have to help him out, which kinda defeats the purpose of him doing it himself out of a sign of goodwill with the rest of the fam."

"Wait, what do you mean he's going to live with you!?"

You ignore Hope's comment completely as you agree with your daughter,

"Good point Shade, you think we can get away with hijacking the next Apple Family Reunion since we're Apples and all that?"

This would go back and forth for some time, Hope increasingly losing her patient as she is ignored while you and Shade discuss how the first family reunion goes, including with coming up with some sort of family name to go by. I perfectly normal conversation in a completely normal setting for the two of you...not so much Hope.

She eventually explodes and questions how her Sombra could have lasted so long with constant exposure to the two of yous randomness, to which you just turn to look at her and shrug. Of course when you do this you don't pay attention to what's around the corner, so you don't realize someone's there until you bump into them.

You immediately jump back and aim your hoof at the creature in front of you threateningly while getting in front of Hope and Nightshade...only to slowly lower it at what you see.

10781407

There before you is a small group of changelings....but all of them are covered with bruises or scratches of some kind all over their bodies. Some of them even have eyepatches or wing casts. Leading them is a rather small changeling all things consider, looking no older then a teenager at best. The injured group behind you are all looking at you in fear while the small one is...looking at you in awe and relief?

"Your...your The Enlightener right? Bugze the changeling...that's you right!?"

You gained a confuse look at that title and awkwardly say that you are, indeed, Bugze the changeling. This causes the small changeling to look at the injured ones in excitement, whose fearful looks had changed to ones of awe at your name, before he turned back towards you and charged at you! You braced for the worst, seeing as you didn't want to attack the kid, but are surprised when instead of attacking you he gives you a hug instead as he gleefully exclaims,

"Yes! Thank the Enlighted ones, we are saved! I am so so so so so so so so glad to finally meet you Mr. Bugze sir!"

You could only blink your eyes owlishly in surprise as the other changelings rushed or limped towards you to express there joy at seeing you in a similar way...

---

After locating a vacant room and getting one of the less injured changelings to stand guard outside the door the small changeling, named Thorax, started explaining what had just happened.

Apparently there was a sect of Changelings who, after being freed from the Hive Mind by the 'Enlightener,' wanted to take Bugze's offer to leave but stayed behind because they had some family who were still loyal to Chrysalis and they were worried about leaving them behind. They all wanted to change and be free like the others, but didn't want to risk their family disowning them or being hurt for 'betraying' the Hive (one of the more unquie looking Changelings of the group (green and blue eyes) scoffed at that and mutter how sure, they were the traitors to the Hive). So they stayed back and resisted the urge to change their ways in order to keep an eye on things.

Of course things quickly went down hill as Chrysalis's mental state dwindled in sanity, showing more and more proof to those in this sect that she was not nearly sane or wise enough to lead. But they kept quiet, which one changeling with light green skin bitterly remarked that they should have to prevented this maddness, only to be shushed by the others.

Things took a turn for the worse when Chrysalis was freed, as her maddness seemingly increased and her obsession with Bugze only grew. Some of those in her advisory court tried to confront her about it...and got 'reprogramed' for their trouble much to Bugze's disgust.

Eventually those in the Enlighted sect saw that things had gone to far after the invasion and tried to stop Chrysalis, but her and her augmented soldiers quickly put an end to their rebellion and had them locked away in the servant's quarters...those that survived at least. Thorax, who was brave enough to sneak into the quarters to free them after attending to their injuries, was leading them to a secret escape tunnel he had found that could get them out and as far away from the Queen as possible.

But now that they have Bugze, they could take the fight to the Queen and end this madness once and for all.

Cue disappointment and Bugze giving a inspiring speech that motivates the changelings to help free those in the dungeons after they reveal that there are many among the Hive who want to abandon the Queen that didn't revolt and are more then happy to screw the Queen over before making an escape.

So with Hope's help they make a plan to get in contact with those among the ranks who wish to flee to help escort the injured and podded prisoners through the escape tunnel while Bugze and others cause some distraction on the other side of the castle. Hope, despite her name, thinks this is a terrible idea but Bugze tells her its there best bet to get most of the creatures out of her. Heck they could have some of the changelings make there way to the train and get it ready to bolt as soon as possible.

After finding Grandbuggy's location thanks to a Changeling wearing a red eye patch the group split up. Bugze and his group, along with the eye patched, double colored eye, and discolored changeling who wanted to tag along and wouldn't take a no for an answer, got to rescue Grandbuggy and cause some chaos while the others started the escape plan.

Bugze also dishes out some names to the changelings joining him after he gets annoyed at calling them numbers for too long. Patches for the red eye patch one (a guy), Double Vision for double colored eye one (female), and Emerald for the green skinned one (female).

Is this my poor attempt to introduce some last minute changeling OCs so we can have some fresh perspectives about Bugze's craziness since literally everyone else is MIA? Yes, yes it is...plus I felt like our good guy changeling cast has been severely limited and a certain idea I have for later needs some new faces. What can I say, even Lady Luck likes to even the odds so things taste all the more sweater when their ultimate demise hits *evil laughter*

---

So I have plans for a DWC scene, a Batman: Arkham Series reference, and a funny idea with Jack that I wanna comment later since I'm running out of time here. Plus I feel like this one comment is long as it is and I don't wanna write too much just yet. Feel free to add on to everything, espiecally dialogue since, yeah, kinda need that hehehehehe....

[Loganic]

10783288
Wasn’t thorax not captured? Like didn’t he say at the end of season 3 he never met Bugze cause he was in the Crystal empire at the time?

[Down with Chrysalis]

10783293

Time is never linear, and with Doctor Who in this universe so long as it isn't a fixed point in time it can be changed. Needless to say I don't think Chrysalis taking over the Crystal Empire (like this at least) had happened in that timeline and now its being re-written.

At least that's my fancy way of saying we can ret-con it with time travel logic. Honestly if this doesn't work he can easily be replaced with some other changeling from the fandom or an OC, Really I just thought it would be adorable/funny if Thorax treated Bugze like some messiah for what he did to the Hive Mind, and then turn it into a little brother sibling thing.

But hey, if it can't happen it can't happen. Its just the nature of a comment driven story after all, chaotic in all but name and forever changing.

[Loganic]

10783307
Ok.

[Puzzling Frost]

10783288
Some pods are empty eh? Interesting~
Anywho quick idea, Bugze while wandering around gets a better glance outside and sees crowds of crystal ponies citizens being corralled by changelings closer to the castle and he sees why. The blizzard has gotten much worse and most of the outer parts of the empire are snowed and iced over. The empire is nearly entirely frozen over, and it seems Chrysalis doesn't care despite the threat it also poses to her and her changelings.

[Down with Chrysalis]

10783406

A group of crystal ponies are strangely wearing a bunch fur curts, the one in the center is constantly shouting into a megaphone despite being dragged by changelings,

“WINTER IS COMING! THE NIGHT WATCH HAS FAILED US! FEAR THE WHITE WALKERS! WINTER IS COMING!”

You can’t help but feel crystal ponies get a litte stir crazy once the winter sets in if this guy is anything to go by....

[BrownDog77]

10783307

10783309
Or, rather simple fix instead of resorting to time travel, Thorax was already in the empire when this all went down, met back up with his brother who covered for him, and then realized maybe joining back up wasn't the best option with Chryssy going crazy. Decides to help some innocent changelings since he knows some paths around the empire, and maybe doesn't directly meet with Bugze, but the others speak of Thorax. Meeting with Pharynx on the other hand would be interesting since he's still very much loyal.

[Down with Chrysalis]

10783431

Oooh, a conflict of philosophy huh? The stern, loyal Changeling meeting the big behind the downfall of his queens sanity~

Now isn’t that a tag line for a spicy drama episode eh?

[Puzzling Frost]

10783422
Welp now I gotta do it. CUE THE WINTER IS COMING SONGS XD

Frost looking out into the storm at some point: Why do I get the feeling I'll be blamed for this?

[Puzzling Frost]

10783288
A quick little add-on to your comment, bugze feels some pain from using his plasmids, not as much as he did in the human world (changeling chitin and all). But still feels some pain since he's not using his power glove.

[Haoryu Changer]

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All this time you were unaware of the strange orange glow that was coming from your face during your anger...

Some new mysterious powers for our bug? I like. Everyone in the group is overpowered lets make our bug as such.

Corrupted Palace Theme:

To try and take their minds off their growingly insane queen, a lot of the drones have are having a party on the main floor of the palace. Most are proud of themselves for being successful, while others had their own reasons, including just wanting to party. You see this through a window, and that's where you find Grandbuggy put up like a pinata with his chitin covered in paper mache.

[Haoryu Changer]

You also see a changeling with purple eyes dancing.

"That's my brother."

[Kichi]

I also vote for the Sneaking Bugze
----
Bugze, Nightshade and Hope began to think about what to do.

"Any chance we can get more allies?" Ask Nightshade to Hope and Bugze

"While some changelings are thinking that Chrysalis is acting strange, they are very loyal to her" Comment Hope

"Yeah, usually there could be some saying this plan is crazy and stop the queen, but I guess that because they were send to the future, no one helped Chrysalis to think a better plan" Say Bugze

"Maybe we can free the Princesses? Let them do their work for once? Get them to send a S.O.S, call the army and all that" Suggest Nightshade as Bugze suddenly have the image of many ponies and changelings fighting in a war being impaled by lances or slashed with swords with Chrysalis stoned and Hope in jail or Tartarus.

"Somehow, I don't think is a good idea" Say Bugze a little green as Hope nod with the head who seemingly thought the same.

"At this moment, it could be good if Discord could help us" Said Nightshade

"Well, I can tell you he was not captured, we got Bugze and his friend quickly as they were together and then we decided to leave before someone noticed anything" Said Hope to the others

"Wherever he is, surely he is in good hoof" Say Bugze to Nightshade

Meanwhile 'Somewhere Safe' (Fluttershy House)

A less blue Discord was in bed trying to rest, when suddenly the door opened with the Cutie Mark Crusaders dressed in pink nurse uniform of their size.

"Cutie Mark Crusaders Nurses, YAY!" Shouted the three at the same time

Somehow Discord was not sure if the chaos they were going to do was a good thing, or if being the guinea pig of those three fillies was going to be worse that being ill

Back to Bugze

"Unless there is a secret group of spies working for the crown, I guess we are alone" Say Hope making Bugze remember The Crimson Knights and the others working for Jack and praying to all beings that they are not around.

"I guess the best we can do is take the others one by one from the cocoons" Argue Bugze as they began to walk only to listen a couple of voices before they took a turn in one of the maze-like corridors

----------
Question:
Are Flim and Flam and the others 'allied' with Chrysalis like the original comic or they just managed to smuggle themselves inside with Hope?

If they are in her side, I add this, if not, just ignore it
------------
Bugze could notice a light and a group of shadows approaching and decided to hide with Nightshade and Hope waiting for whoever it was coming to leave.

"You know, Flim, I'm beginning to doubt the plan of this queen could work... I mean, you can remember what happened a couple of days in the empire, heck I'm surprised the sun and moon is still moving, and after what happened in the Crystal Empire a couple of days ago, I could imagine that we could end worse that the Terrorist" Say one of the voices that Bugze guessed was Flam

"You are right Flam, I don't think let the evil bug queen take Equestria is good for the pair of us, unless we can somehow make her a machine to take love from ponies without side-effects so that she could not need prisoners, but I doubt it could work for us" Say the voice of Flim

"Iron Will have a family, he don't want the Life of a Wanted Minotaur, Iron Will also feel bad for helping the bad queen to capture poor Fluttershy after she helped him with the seminar" Say the voice of Iron Will as Bugze could feel as if someone stole his thunder or copied him.

"Whatever, they deserved it... Stupid Rainbow Dash and stupid cute rainbow flanks, always showing herself" Groaned another voice that Bugze could identify as Lighting Dust
-------------

[Nightslayer]

I know this is a time you stretch but listen here what if Bugze or nightshade found a Batman ice grenade from Arkham City

https://www.google.com/search?q=batman+arkham+city+ice+grenade&client=ms-android-mpcs-us-revc&biw=360&bih=518&tbm=isch&prmd=visn&sxsrf=ALeKk01I8URifMLHF6aJ3QHlajPLM2PP2A:1619207496996&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwif6bP9kZXwAhXJ6J4KHS4aCJAQ_AUIFigC#imgrc=YaahmN7Urjux0M

It's a video game reference because cuz they are in freezing City and oh yeah I forgot something and some smoke bombs

[Jayo Jack]

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Are you sure about that last part? Because the changelings are questioning about what's going on in Chrysalis' head, and I'm pretty sure both Thorax and Pharynx are one of them.

[BrownDog77]

10786281
Pharynx was stubborn enough to hold out on becoming a fancy rainbow changeling for like a year, and also stayed with Chrysalis after Appeloosa. Some people are like that, stubborn to a T despite evidence to the contrary. It's like DWC said, his loyalty would be to the crown and see Bugze as the root cause of making Chryssy loopy.

[Kichi]

Something short that crossed my head
------
Bugze began to look around

"Where is a good cardboard box when you need it?" Ask Bugze mostly to himself

"Seriously? A cardboard box?" Ask Hope looking at Bugze and the other confused not trusting what she just managed to listen

"Believe me, if I was not inside his head all this time I could also not believe it, but somehow it works" Say Selena groaning

"But... A cardboard box?" Ask Hope still trying to make sense to it as she looked at Nightshade

"Ponies usually are stupid" Answered Nightshade to Hope

"Maybe I should search for some fake glasses, if it worked for supermare, it could work for me" Comment Bugze as if he did notice Hope distress

"Talking about stupid... I wonder if we could summon Pinkie Pie?" Comment Nightshade as the others look at her

"Summon? She must be trapped in a cocoon right now" Say Hope

"We could try to break a Pinkie Promise, as breaking a Pinkie Promise is the best way to lose the trust of a friend..." Began to say Nightsade but was interrupted

"FOREVER!" -The voice of Pinkie Pie was heard from behind them but when they turn around there is no trace of the pink pony

"What? How? she should be in a cocoon and how could she throw her voice here, or notice anything or..." Asked Hope scared

"It's Pinkie Pie being Pinkie" Said Bugze, Nightshade and Selena.

"Believe me, you will not manage to make sense to this" Commented Bugze to Hope as Nightshade and Selena nodded

"I wonder if I still have time to return with the Umbrum and leave Equestria" Muttered Hope
-----------

[Puzzling Frost]

On with the Show!

---

10783288

As you wander the halls as quietly as you could, you and your group try to come up with a plan. “Alright once we get Jack and Grandbuggy we’ll need a plan.” You say turning a corner.

“Your allies will all be in a semi-drunken state when we pull them out of the pods, and while there are some who question the queen’s sanity, many wouldn’t be willing to oppose her.” Patches said in a gruff tone.

“Yeah and I don’t think miss Hope’s friends can keep her occupied for long,” Emerald said trotting beside her one-eyed companion.

“Once Sombra wakes up we can free the Umbrum and I can regain control of the situation. I know they can help us.” Hope said with confidence, doing her best to not drop said stallion in question.

“Not to be skeptical Ms. Hope, but from what I’ve heard of the Umbrum, they aren’t exactly the best of creatures,” Nightshade says with some hesitation.

“You don’t know them as I do, they’re sweet and kind. Completely misunderstood, I’ve spent the better part of the last thousand years with them and they’ve never once shown any sign of evil they’re so wrongfully accused of.” Hope said with a smile. “Besides they can help you with your little shard problem in your chest.”

“You spent how long with them?!” Double Vision said with shock.

“Why are so many people from a thousand years ago popping back up in recent years?” Nightshade sighs in annoyance. “I mean Mommy and Auntie Luna are okay but I mean come on!”

“Discuss the strange appearances of ancient beings from a long time ago later, survive the current crisis now.” You say back to your group. “Although you have a very good point there honey.” Nightshade beams at your compliment. Your group continues maneuvering through the dungeons narrowly avoiding patrols until finally, you arrive at your destination.

You sneak up to the room where Jack is supposed to be held. You turn to your group and pause.

“Patches you sure this is the place?”

“Positive, Chrysalis made sure to keep him separate from the others,” Patches said with the utmost assurance however he narrowed his eye as he looked over to the room. “Although it’s strange there are no guards around given what you’ve told us about this guy.”

“Probably out looking for me,” You say nervously, “which in this case is a good thing I guess, still be on alert.” The others nod, you hand over Selena to Emerald who grunts under her size.

“She’s heavier than she looks.” Emerald huffs as she tries to keep her balance, you raise an eyebrow at that. She didn’t feel that heavy to you, guess that your earth pony DNA and nearly four years of crazy work made your body stronger.

“Hey don’t call mommy fat!” Nightshade chides, you ignore them as you slowly trot over to the door. You put an ear to it and hear some groans from inside. Your eyes widen in panic as you step back. You charge forward and bust down the door, of course, you slip and land face-first into the ground.

“Oww.” You groan getting up quickly, “Don’t worry Jack we’re here to rescue-” Your heroic speech dies in your throat as you see the room empty save for a few bruised and unconscious changeling guards.

“Wow, even in a weakened state your friend escaped! And these are some of the queen’s elites too!” Double Vision said in awe as she looked inside.

“Is everyone you know combat experts?!” Hope asks in shock.

“More or less, but now we have a new problem! Jack’s out and by himself, and while he’s immortal he might still be groggy from the pods. We gotta find him and quick!” You say rushing out the door. “Where could he be?”

“I can find him!” Double Vision said with confidence. She ignited her horn and her eyes glowed as she scanned the area.

“What’s she doing?” Hope asked.

“Double is a tracker drone, she can detect heat signatures that other creatures leave behind,” Emerald explained, she sighed in relief as you took Selena back. You look to the smaller changeling with a raised eyebrow. “Hey! I’m not built for heavy lifting like you! I’m better at stealth.” She said with an embarrassed look.

“I think I have a better idea,” Nightshade said. The group sans Double looked to her as her horn glowed. I suddenly felt Selena lift off me and over to my daughter she opened her inventory and gently placed her mother inside.

“Why didn’t we think of that earlier.” You face hoofed, Nightshade turned to lift Sombra off Hope but the mare clung to the king.

“I am not letting him out of my sight! You may be fine putting your mother in a bag but I will not let anyone near Sombra.” Hope all but growled like a dog protecting their pup.

“He’ll be fine, the bag is practically bottomless. And it’ll be much safer and easier to move around with him in there.” Nightshade said, “I should know I practically spent two years in it. Hope gave me a look that said, ‘I question your parenting skills’ to which I rolled my eyes.

“Look lady you can go in with him for all I care but even you have to admit carrying him around on your back is just slowing you down,” I said, Hope, opened her mouth to respond but sighed in defeat.

“Fine but I’m going in to, I need to help him when he wakes up.”

“Great!” Nightshade beamed before picking both of them up in her magic. Hope barely had a chance to react before they were stuffed into the bag.

“If you guys are finished,” Double Vision spoke up, “I’ve got his trail, follow me!” She said motioning us to follow. You continue on your way, this time much quicker this time without having to carry ponies on your backs.

After a few minutes of searching Double stops at a door. “He’s in here, but he’s not alone. I’m picking up three more beings in there with him.” You take the lead and sneak to the door, taking a breath you push the door open and leap in.

“Jack we’re here to rescue you- Woah, wha, yow, AHH!” You say before slipping on ice near the doorway. You cry in shock before sliding face-first into the wall. “Owwww again.”

“Bugze?! Oh no, are you okay?” Derpy says looking over to you in worry.

“Heh, talk about some rescue.” Jack snarks as your group comes in. You shake your head and turn to see Jack sitting next to Derpy, Garble, and Frost, all of whom were covered in green goo.

“Took you long enough.” Garble groaned as he continued cleaning off his scales. Frost was in no better state as his nostrils had icicles hanging out of them. Derpy was the most covered as she had been helping the others clean up before herself. They all seemed to wobble a bit as if they had just gotten off a crazy rollercoaster.

“Is that the Offender? Ugh, my eyes hurt.” Frost said rubbing his eyes.

“Garble? Frost? Derpy?!” Nightshade said before flying inside. “You guys are alright!” She said rushing over and hugging the three.

“Ah watch the wings! That changeling goop stuck them to my sides and now they’re very sensitive!” Garble winced trying to pull away. Frost jumped at the sudden contact but upon hearing, Nightshade's voice relaxed before slowly returning the hug. Derpy smiled and patted the filly’s head.

“I’m assuming these guys are with you?” Jack says looking at the three other changelings. He gives a wink to the females who blush in embarrassment and playful purr to Patches who looks away with a minor blush.

“Ugh, yes and a few other changelings are also with us.” You groan pulling your face off the wall. Shaking your head from the impact you stare at the immortal stallion. “They’re off trying to get some of the others freed although most of them are a bit banged up and mostly going off to hide.“ You look over to the colt and dragon, “So did you free them?”

“Garble and Ms. Do-Turner yes. Frost? Eh sorta. Had to deal with a few guards who were looking over him. Apparently, he kept freezing his pods so they had to add more goop on each time.” Jack said looking toward the little guy. “Guess it comes in handy when you can freeze everything you touch, although he’s still a bit out of it himself.” As if to emphasize Frost started to sniff before sneezing out a blast of ice at the ground.

“That explains the fall,” You mutter mentally cursing Lady luck for having you slip on said ice. “So how’d you escape?”

“What can I say, guess my good looks were too much for that goo to hold,” Jack said with a smile.

“He has no idea how he got out, he somehow melted out of his pod next to a few hungry changelings who decided to feed off of his love energy,” Derpy remarked with a giggle. Jack’s face darkened in embarrassment as a sweatdrop went down his face.

“I told you that in confidence.” He said with a huff, while you could barely hold back your laughter. Regaining his composure he continued. “I was able to scout around before stumbling on these two, the palace is under total lockdown. However, it’s becoming more difficult for Chrisalyis to keep the citizens occupied. That blizzard out there is making them panic and harder to control.”

“I noticed. That blizzard is getting worse by the minute. It won’t matter if we beat Chrysalis if we’re all buried under ice and snow.” You sigh, however, you pause as you hear Frost sniffle at that.

“Frost? What’s wrong?” Nightshade asks worriedly as she puts aside her inventory. Derpy places a wing over the colt in comfort.

“I’m...I’m sorry.” Frost began to whimper. “I was supposed to keep the storm out with the ocarina. But I let Chrysalis capture me and the others. I could’ve stopped them, I should’ve stopped them! Now you and everyone else are going to freeze!” Frost said as tears ran down his cheeks turning to ice when they fell.

“Hey kid, it’s not your fault.” You say looking to the poor colt.

“Yes, it is!” He shouts holding his head in his hooves, “If I hadn’t helped Flag Burner disrupt the games, everyone would’ve been better defended from Chrysalis and the storm wouldn’t be consuming empire! It’s my village all over again! It’s-”

“Hey, I heard yelling what’s going on out here?” Hope says popping her head out from the bag. Frost freezes as he stares at her for a moment, you look on in confusion while Nightshade’s, Jack’s and Derpy’s eyes widen in panic.

“Wha? Are you?” Frost said taking a step back as Hope stepped out of the bag. She stared back at the colt with confusion. Frost trembled for a moment before shaking his head. Nightshade looked at him with worry, Frost took a few breaths before looking back to Hope.

“Are you alright little one?” Hope said staring at Frost.

“I-” Frost paused before composing himself. “I’m fine. I’m sorry I...I thought you were someone else.” Frost said before retreating over to the corner. “I just need a minute.”
Nightshade sighed before trotting over to him.

“Um...what was that about?” Double Vision said in a hushed tone.

“Did I do something wrong?” Hope said looking worriedly over to the colt. You looked to the Torchwood members for answers. Jack looked to Derpy who nodded in silent agreement.

“The kid has had it rough the past few days,” Jack said sighing. “Recent events have brought up painful memories for him.”

“I can tell, he’s practically drowning us in negative emotions.” Patches said looking over at the colt with pity.

“But why did he freeze up when he saw Hope?” You asked with worry. Glancing over you saw Nightshade doing her best to comfort the smaller colt.

“Well based on the photo in his locket, Hope is practically a spitting image of his mother,” Derpy said with a sigh. Your eyes widen in shock as Jack shakes his head in pity.

“And what’s that got to- oh ooh.” Emerald started till she pieced it together.

“I’m still a bit lost here,” Garble said with a confused look.

“His mother….died,” Jack says with a sigh. Hope gasps covering her mouth with a hoof.

“Oh,” Garble said now feeling sad himself. You feel your parental instincts start to kick in, turning over you look over to Nightshade comforting him. Frost holding onto his locket tightly. You empathized with the colt, knowing what’s like to grow up without a mom.

---

All I got for now, hope you enjoy it and feel free to add on to it!

[Puzzling Frost]

Quick add-on to my previous comment!

---

10793136

“Wait, Derpy how did you get out of your pod?” You ask turning to the mare. 

“Oh I was never captured in the first place,” Derpy said with a smug look. 

“Huh?!” The three rouge changelings gasped. Jack rolled his eyes in amusement.

“Hey, you don’t spend years with a time traveler who constantly gets into dangerous universe-ending situations and not learn how to hold your own,” Derpy smirked as she flexed a foreleg.

“Do you think she is that grey terror that demolished some of the troops during the Canterlot invasion?” Emerald whispered to Vision and Patches. 

“But I got separated from Mia and Aqua. I don’t know if they escaped.” She said with a sigh. 

“Aqua and Mia are here?!” You say with surprise.
 
“Yes, they came here with me,” Jack said, you give Jack a worried look. 

“Aqua I can understand, but Mia? Why did you bring her here? What if she sees Cadence? Or Shining? Or if they see her?! It could trigger her memories!” You say remembering how she was back on the other Equestria. 

“She wouldn’t take no for an answer.” Jack sighed. “I was going to send her back when Chrysalis attacked.”

“I’m sorry but who’s Mia?” Hope asked, confused. 

“An ally, but it’s best we keep her away from the princesses and Chrysalis. Things could go very bad very quickly if she crosses paths with them.” Jack says with worry.

---

And that's all I have for now. Hope you all enjoy!