> MLDC: The Justice League of Equestria - Omnibus 2
>  by littleman001
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> TLH Vol. 1: SotM: Issue #1: Fitting In
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

She wanted to scream for help. But she had barely any energy left. She's been doing exactly that for three days now but to no avail. She was hungry, thirsty and so tired. There was more than one time when she felt like just giving up, lying down and dying.

How did things go so terrible? The Royal Wedding was supposed to be the greatest event of the whole year. Instead, Canterlot was invaded by a bunch of insectoid pony creatures, wreaking havoc and destruction on the entire city, foalnapping ponies and knocking down buildings.

This was how she ended up in this mess. All she wanted was a nice cup of hot chocolate, but then the invaders attacked. She didn't dare to leave the shop she was at and hid behind the counter. Unfortunately for her, the shop was brought down to ruins in the ensuing battle between the invaders and the superheroes of Equestria. She was grateful that they have once again saved the day of course, but she really wished they could try to not make such big messes while fighting crime.

She was beginning to lose hope. Her throat hurt from all the useless screaming and her whole body ached from all the rubble she's been trapped under. Nopony would find her in time before she succumbed to her wounds or died from hunger or thirst. Just when she was finally ready to accept her fate, she heard the rubble above her being moved.

"Where are you, ma'am?" A stallion asked from above. Despite her exhaustion, she manged to reply.

"I'm... I'm here... Please... Help me..." She stuttered weakly. She was sure the rescuers wouldn't hear it, but despite her almost inaudible voice, she started hearing more of the rubble being removed from above her in rapid succession as they began digging closer to her. Eventually, she felt the rubble crushing her chest being lifted off of her, giving her the chance to finally take a huge breath that was enough to fill her lungs with sufficient oxygen, before her eyes fell on her saviour, a dark brown earth pony firefighter.

"I found her! Come here!" He called out to his colleagues. Immediately, two pegasi flew over to their location and slowly and safely placed the injured mare on a stretcher. The earth pony saw that the mare was about to open her mouth, probably in expression of gratitude but he merely pushed his hoof against her lips. "Don't. Save your energy, miss." He said before the pegasi carried her off.

"Thank the princesses you were here." One of the firefighters told the stallion. "I still don't know how you managed to locate her under all that rubble but we never would have found her in time without you." The earth pony merely nodded in appreciation.

As the firefighters began to organise the removal of the ruins, the earth pony who located the distressed mare slipped away from the group without anypony noticing. He snuck into an alleyway before looking around to see if anypony was around. When he was certain there weren't, his eyes lit up with red light as his body began to change shape.

The firefighter uniform, the dark brown coat and the black mane began to blur away into nothingness and they were soon replaced by white, rocky skin and a long blue cape. Instead of the earth pony firefighter, there was now Jean Jeans, aka, the Lunar Hunter standing in the alleyway. Yes, a mere firefighter would never have found the poor mare in time. But with his telepathic abilities, it was mere foal's play to him.

"No matter how many times I see it, it never gets any less stunning." Jean turned to see none other than Twilight Sparkle standing at the other end of the alley, observing his transformation in awe.

"Impressive." The lunar commented. "Nopony has ever managed to sneak up on me before." Twilight just smirked and shrugged in response.

"Jean, you're talking to a master of stealth." She replied, waving a hoof dismissively. "No offense but I had more difficulty tracking down Killer Croc in the Manehattan sewers."

"None taken." Jean assured her. "I suppose I shouldn't expect anything less from the Batmare. Anyway, can I help you with something?"

"I was guiding the Royal Guard through the street. They're in the middle of their own rescue operations and I noticed you slipping away from the firefighters." Jean raised an eyebrow. Or rather, a bony growth he had in the place of his eyebrows on his hairless body. 

"You noticed me? Even in my transformed state?" Twilight nodded.

"I'm also a master observer, Jean. Comes with being the world's greatest detective as they are so fond of calling me. And I know you from our shared work sessions during the wedding preparations. It's easy when you know the telltale signs. So what are you doing out here?"

"While the Changeling invasion may have been repelled, there is still much work to be done in Canterlot." Jean replied. "And as Princess Luna's aide, it is my duty to help anywhere I can." Twilight was still rather confused.

"Don't you think you would be of more help with your powers? Many of my new friends have been doing that."

"While it is true that my lunar physiology gifts me with several abilities ponies lack, I prefer to avoid using them whenever possible." The Lunar explained. Twilight's questioning expression softened into a sympathetic frown.

"Is it your appearance?" She asked, not able to come to any other conclusion. "Are you afraid you will make them afraid? I suppose that's a reasonable concern, especially after the Changeling attack. But I'm sure they would quickly come around once they see your benevolence. Just like I have."

"I am not afraid to show my true self in public." Jean told her. "Even though I have never done that. It is just I don't want ponykind to become over reliant on my powers. And neither should my fellow heroes." Twilight finally understood.

"Supermare actually raised a similar concern." She replied. "But she finds it difficult to restrain herself. She believes ponies of power are responsible for using it to the benefit of the others. And set a good example to the rest of ponykind. And the others seem to agree."

"A noble notion." Jean nodded. "But good intentions can carry negative effects we wouldn't expect. If we're going to solve all of ponykind's problems, how will they ever learn to solve it for themselves?"

"Well, I cannot voice my opinion on that given my lack of powers." Twilight shrugged. "Perhaps you should discuss it with them yourself." The alien gave the mare a soft glare. "Don't worry, I haven't revealed your existence to them yet." Twilight said, throwing her hooves up defensively. "I know you requested that I keep it a secret and I will respect it. But I really think you should."

Jean cast his gaze down. When Twilight theorised that he was afraid to reveal himself to others, she wasn't completely off the mark. But like he said, it wasn't the ponies' reaction to his appearance that he feared. There was an internal struggle in him that he had to settle first.

"I don't think I'm quite ready for that, my friend. But I would be grateful if you carried my message to them. Their strong dedication to help the ones in need is admirable. I believe in guiding ponies and non-ponies alike to help themselves and each other." Before Twilight could reply, the Lunar's eyes widened as his telepathic senses picked up another situation. Only this time, it wasn't somepony who needed help. On the contrary, it was somepony who needed to be stopped.

"Did you say you were guiding the Royal Guard in the area?" Twilight nodded. "Then please gather a few of them and guide them to the other side of this alleyway." The purple mare didn't even ask questions and took off. Once she left, Jean closed his eyes and morphed his body into the shape of another royal guard himself before running out of the alley.

Once on the street, he immediately saw what he was looking for. A pair of earth pony stallions looting a ruined furniture store building. Jean glared. Vultures. Taking advantage of the chaos caused by the invasion to take other ponies' property. He was disgusted but he knew how to keep his emotions in check.

"Hold it right there!" The two stallions immediately dropped the comfortable looking sofa they were holding and turned to look at the disguised alien. They began to run but they couldn't have expected that their pursuer wouldn't chase them by conventional means.

Jean saw a piece of debris in the way the looters were running and used his telekinetic powers to levitate it into their path, tripping them both before running up to them and swiftly subduing the pair. Fortunately, he had the foresight to turn into a unicorn guard so the telekinetic trick wouldn't attract any attention even if there were witnesses.

"There they are!" Jean looked up to see Twilight approaching him with three guards who quickly took the two looters into custody. The disguised alien exchanged one last appreciative look with Twilight before departing.

'Do you see, Miss Sparkle? Ponies can do it themselves. If they are given proper guidance.' He thought as he made his way back towards the castle. On his way back, he kept watching the ponies working on the streets. Some of them were removing debris, others were already busy rebuilding the damaged infrastructure. The Royal Guard kept patrolling the streets to maintain order and the medical ponies were tending to the wounded.

While Jean's expression rarely showed any emotion, this sight put a small smile on his face. There was not one of those groups he didn't work with in the previous days. One day he helped the doctors by detecting the injuries inside ponies' bodies to help decide the proper treatment, the next day he aided the construction workers with some heavy lifting and fixing their damaged equipment, but the work he was most pleased with was aiding the rescuers to help locate and rescue trapped civilians in places where they wouldn't have found them in time, just like he did with that injured mare before.

Not all heroes needed powers. And while he had more than all of the seven warriors who fought off the Changelings combined, he preferred to only use them as an absolute last resort. He has always been a pacifist, which was why he didn't aid them during the fight. But the fact that he brought them together in the first place made him an undeniable part of their victory. Once the fighting was over and he was certain the team would be effective, he promised Twilight, the team's newly appointed leader that he would aid them in their future struggles and he had every intention of keeping that promise.

But when it came to the everyday struggles of ponykind, he was a firm believer that they should be able to handle things themselves. He hoped Twilight would be able to convince the rest of her colleagues to reduce the number of their heroics to the minimum necessary level. He didn't want ponies to become too complacent and forget how to handle their own problems. He saw the results of that firsthoof.





Princess Luna was not having a good week to put it mildly. Ever since the Changeling invasion put her sister and captain Shining Armor out of commission, she had to take on every single task in Canterlot. And most of those tasks of course were related to the rebuilding of the city and tending to the wounded civilians. And combining that with her duties in the dream realm, especially with how the amount of nightmares have skyrocketed since the attack, meant that she was very, very busy.

She was currently sitting in her sister's study, looking over more of the damage reports and signing documents, granting parts of the city their requested costs of the rebuilds from the royal treasury. Which were surprisingly much lower than she expected. No doubt that had something to do with the superheroes who fought off the Changelings sticking around to help.

She still remembered when her aide, Jean Jeans, her old friend from the moon approached her with the odd request to invite them to the wedding. He quickly detected that Cadance had been replaced by an impostor and caught wind of the imminent Changeling invasion as well, but he also knew that the Royal Guard and perhaps even the princesses would not be able to stand against their full might. No. They needed an alliance of the most powerful superpowered ponies in the land and his gamble paid off richly. Luna hated to admit it, but they would be lost without them.

She was snapped out of her thoughts by somepony knocking on her door. "Enter!" She called out and the door opened to reveal her trusty aide, Jean Jeans in his usual daytime appearance.

"Good day, you're highness." He greeted formally, but Luna merely waved him off.

"My friend, there's no need for that." She smiled warmly. "We have known each other for a time inconceivable to mere ponies. I think it is safe to say we have reached first name basis."

"Sorry." Jean apologised. "It's getting hard to separate my roles as your friend from the moon and your royal assistant." He then noticed the documents on Luna's desk. "More reports?" The princess nodded.

"And repair fund requests. It still angers me how many ponies tried to embezzle us by requesting far more money than they actually needed. But thanks to your advanced telepathic skills, we managed to see through them." Her compliment was genuine, but it still made Jean frown.

"I'm always happy to help, but you know how I feel about you relying on me too much. Your magic is perfectly capable of doing that too."

"True, but your telepathic skills are natural and thus far more efficient. Besides, I don't like violating my subjects' minds even if they hold nefarious thoughts." Luna went back to the documents and signed another one before placing it to the pile she already filled and moved on to the next one. A very sad frown grew on her face as she read, which troubled Jean so much that he went to see what it was. He wished he didn't. It was a death report.

"Another soul lost to senseless violence." Jean spoke with immense sadness, which Luna shared.

"Fortunately, there were very few fatalities during the invasion and even those were mostly accidental from the likes of falling debris and explosions." The princess said as she began to write a condolence letter to the poor pony's family.

"The Changelings themselves haven't actually killed anypony then." Jean noted, causing Luna to frown in disgust.

"Why would they have? They needed them alive to drain them of their love! Disgusting parasites!" She snarled. Of course, Jean also wasn't pleased with the actions of the Changelings, but Luna's anger surprised him. She was usually calm and collected, but then he remembered what they did to Luna's sister, niece and would be nephew-in-law.

"How are Celestia, Cadance and Shining Armor?" He asked. Luna's anger turned to sorrow as she thought of their condition.

"Tia and the Captain are still recovering from being taken captive by the creatures, but Cadance by far had it the worse. She is still comatose from being trapped inside that pod for so long. Not to mention being so malnourished and the exhausting mental draining they put her through. It seems like the Changelings were particularly interested in her, though given that she is the very embodiment of the thing the Changelings seek to obtain from their prey, that's hardly surprising. The physicians are unsure when she will wake up. Or if she will." She explained gravely. Jean put a hoof on her shoulder in support.

"I'm sure she will. Princess Cadance is a strong young mare, full of life. Not to mention she's an alicorn. From what I have gathered, they don't go down easily." Luna looked up at her friend, but her glum expression didn't change.

"Is clairvoyance also among your unending list of superpowers?" She asked rhetorically, but Jean answered anyway.

"I'm afraid that is one skill I do not possess. But I know my friends and I have strong faith in them." He maintained his smile and he was finally able to lift the Princess' spirit a little.

"I don't know what I would do without you." She said in gratitude, but her words caused the lunar's smile to fall.

"I know and that worries me deeply." Luna shook her head.

"No, not your powers. Your friendship. My sister always said friendship is magic but I never quite shared that sentiment. Only now I see how right she was. If only there were more of your kind on the moon during my banishment, perhaps your combined good influence may have completely purified me before my release." She joked, but she failed to improve the mood of her friend. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up any bad memories."

"It's alright." Jean replied. "The extinction was a spontaneous process. By the time we first made contact, I wasn't sure if there were any other survivors." He then walked to the study room's window and somberly stared out on it. "I was all alone. Roaming the endless barren lands of the moon for what seemed like an eternity. I thought it would drive me insane." Luna nodded.

"I felt the same." She said before joining her friend at the window. "Being sealed inside the moon with only that damnable Nightmare demon to keep me company. Fueling my desire for power and vengeance. Listening to that for almost a millennium made me nearly completely give in to its influence and allow it to fully consume me. When we first made contact I felt like I had a true companion again." She then turned to him with a soft smile." You saved me from the clutches of my monster. You have my eternal gratitude for that."

"As you have mine, my friend. You have saved me from the maddening loneliness. Though an unimaginable tragedy had befallen us both, it brought us together and I am grateful for that."

"You know, you never really told me about your species before." Luna said curiously. "What was it like. An entire civilisation on my moon without me knowing about it sounds so fascinating!"

"I'm afraid I've not much to tell." Jean shrugged. "Compared to the standards of my species, I'm still extremely young. Our average lifespan is measured over a hundred thousand pony years. The Extinction began way before my time, I don't even remember my family." This revelation shocked Luna. She didn't know how she could ever live without Celestia by her side.

"That is horrible!" She gasped. "To not know one's own family... I can't even imagine how that would be like."

"You are the first real family I ever knew." Jean replied, turning to her with a smile. "And I hope I will be able to form a similar bond with Equestria’s defenders during our future endeavours. Come what may, Equus is my home now, but..." His expression suddenly turned into a frown and he redirected his gaze at the sky. "But is it strange that I long for a world that I've never known?" It was Luna's turn to put a supportive hoof on her friend's shoulder.

"You wish to know your roots. Where you came from. That is perfectly natural." Jean wasn't entirely convinced though.

"I have spoken with Twilight Sparkle earlier today." He said. Luna's eyes narrowed upon the mention of the broken horned unicorn's name.

"The Batmare." She said with barely contained disdain, much to Jean's confusion.

"Given your fascination with the rest of Equestria’s heroes, why such hostility towards her?"

"She keeps sticking her nose in my state affairs." Luna replied. "She thinks she conceals her investigations well, but few remain hidden from the eyes of the Princess of the Night."

"Anyway, she speculated that my reluctance to aid ponies with my powers publicly is based on my fear they would reject me due to my appearance." Luna was about to reassure her friend about the absurdity of that suggestion, but he wasn't done talking. "She was half right. I am afraid, but not of ponykind's rejection. I'm afraid that I don't fit into this world."

Luna was flabbergasted. She had no idea Jean felt that way. The lunar stallion looked down at the city through the window and watched the crowds of ponies going around their duties in the rebuilding city.

"I wonder if Supermare ever feels like this. Do I really belong among these ponies?"

"You do." Luna told him firmly without the slightest hint of doubt. "You're as much of my little ponies as anypony else. You fit in with me Jean and to me, that is enough." Jean looked up at her, not sure how to reply. He still had his doubts, but Luna's reassurance did feel good. Though before he could say anything, another series of knocks interrupted them.

"Enter!" Luna called out and the door was opened by a guard.

"Excuse me, your highness, but a new prisoner transport is arriving at Belle Reeve in half an hour." Luna sighed.

"That is one resource we're never going to run out of. Criminals. Thank you for informing me. I'm on my way." She was about to leave the room but when she reached the door, she turned back to Jean.

"And as for you, please take the rest of the day off. You must be exhausted after all of your... helping today."

Jean nodded. Though exhausted wasn't really the right word. Troubled was more fitting and he could have used some rest to clear his mind. He quickly gathered Luna's documents and put them in order before leaving for his room.

But when he was about to close the door, he got the feeling that somepony was watching him. He looked around but couldn't see anypony around and he couldn't even detect an observer with his telepathic abilities.

Finally convincing himself that his feeling was wrong, he left and locked the door. But had he extended his telepathic search to the outskirts of the castle, he would have noticed an invisible presence on the streets below the castle that looked up at the exact same window he's been staring out on with a pointed stare. A pointed stare with slightly blazing red eyes.
> TLH Vol. 1: SotM: Issue #2: Nightmares
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jean Jeans opened his eyes to find himself standing back on the lunar surface of his home. That was shocking for two reasons, he clearly remembered falling asleep in his own bed back in Canterlot Castle and in his pony form. Now here he was on the endless barren wasteland of the moon without remembering that he ever traveled back there.

But it also felt different. It was just as lonely and lifeless as he recalled it, but there was also something else. A darkness he never felt before. An ominous and evil energy surrounded him from all sides and it made him more terrified than he ever was.

He tried using his telepathic abilities to locate the source of this evil, but to his horror, he found that they were not working. He became so horrified of both this revelation and the surrounding evil that all he could think about was leaving this cursed land and returning to Equus.

He tried to lift himself off the ground but his flight also wasn't working. He fell back on the surface with an undignified thud as he became fully aware that none of his powers were working at the moment. He looked up to get a glimpse of his adopted homeworld to gain some semblance of reassurance, but his eyes widened when he saw it was not there.

He tried to reassure himself that it was simply because he was on what the ponies referred to as the "dark side of the moon", but that reassurance fell short when he saw that the stars also weren't visible. Wherever he looked, there was nothing but darkness.

'What in the name Luna?!' Jean thought as he frantically got back on his hooves. 'What is going on here?!'

"J'inn." The lunar stallion jumped in fright as he turned to look at who spoke his name. He couldn't believe his eyes. Standing in front of him, was an equine creature that looked exactly like his lunar form. It had no hair on its snow white body and it was staring back at him with two pupil less red eyes. The only difference between them was that the new arrival was a little taller and spoke with a definitive feminine voice.

The two lunar beings stared stoically at each other for a few moments before a warm smile spread across the female's features. She raised one of her forelegs and reached out, as if beckoning the stallion to come over to her. "J'inn, come here! Let me take a look at you!" Jean had never seen this female before, but she had a certain familiar warmth about her that made her easy to recognise.

The stallion felt like an invisible force took control of his body and made him walk forward, right into the female's extended hoof. He walked forward with slow and curious steps like a newborn colt taking his first steps and felt his forelegs lift into the air before wrapping themselves around the mare's neck. They held each other for almost a minute before the mare pulled away and held Jean's face between her hooves as she looked into his eyes lovingly.

"You have grown into just the strong handsome lunar I always imagined you to become." She praised. "Just like your father." Jean's eyes widened upon hearing that word.

"My... My father?" He spoke for the first time since waking up here. The female who could have only been his mother nodded.

"Yes, dear. He is just inside. Come in! He will be just as eager to see you!" Jean raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Inside?" His mother stood aside and revealed a dome shaped house with green walls and a white roof, four circular windows at equal distance from each other and a large red pair of automated doors. Jean's puzzlement only grew upon sighting the building. Was that there before?

His mother took him by the hoof and gently pulled him toward the building. The door opened without a sound as they entered and Jean got a good look at the interior as well. There was a large circular table in the middle, surrounded by four chairs. From left to the door, Jean saw what appeared to be the kitchen area. There was a series of cupboards lining up on the ground along with a stove and a sink.

On the right, there seemed to be what was the living room area with a circular couch sitting on a large carpet decorated by several pillows and pictures on the wall. But what caught Jean's attention the most was the small lunar creature lying on their stomach on the couch. The small creature was humming merrily to themselves and doodling on a piece of paper with a blissful smile on their face. When they looked up and saw Jean approaching, their smile widened into a huge grin as they jumped up from the couch and ran over to Jean, wrapping their tiny hooves around one of his hooves.

"Welcome home brother!" The little creature squealed in an obviously female voice. She let go of Jean's hoof and presented her drawing to him. "I drew this for you! Do you like it?" Jean took the paper and saw a crude drawing of himself soaring across the skies of Equus as the Lunar Hunter, carrying a pony he just saved from a giant monster. As much as he appreciated the gesture, there was something eerie about it.

"It's... It's lovely, sister. Thank you." Jean replied, still trying to wrap his mind around how did his little sister whom he never met before gained such an insight into his life on Equus.

"Oh, I forgot!" His mother gasped as she smacked her head. "I was supposed to make a humongous feast to celebrate your return to us!" She then left towards the kitchen area, leaving Jean alone with his sister. The little girl looked up at Jean with wide adoring eyes as he observed her drawing.

Once he was done, he tried giving it back to her but the girl didn't seem to notice. She just kept staring up at him with curious eyes and a wide grin, completely unmoving. If Jean wanted to be honest, it was rather unnerving. He was about to break the silence but his sister did it for him.

"Is it true that you met Luna?" The youngster asked, not breaking eye contact or even moving while she spoke. The question caught Jean off guard. It was true that the lunar race worshipped the alicorn who moved their home around the planet of Equus. Though he never mentioned this to Luna. Her head was big enough as was. But how did she know about him meeting her?

"Yes, I have." He replied, deciding to ignore his confusion. "She was very nice. She had kept me company while I was alone and lonely, roaming the empty lunar surface. I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't met her."

"But now you found us!" His sister said to him with the same bright smile. "Now you don't have to go back to her and you can stay with us forever!" Jean slowly backed away from her when she said that. For some reason, he sensed a really threatening undertone to that last sentence. But he quickly shook it off. Why should he feel intimidated by a little girl?

He was about to tell her that he couldn't stay since he was duty bound to Princess Luna, but before he could speak, a male voice interrupted him. "Where is he?! Where is my son?!" Jean turned to see a massive lunar stallion who could have only been the head of the family coming out of one of the backrooms.

"He's right here, daddy!" The filly waved at him. The father turned towards Jean and smiled brightly when he spotted him.

"There you are!" He bellowed merrily as he pulled the younger lunar into his hooves. "My, your mother was right! You've really grown up to be every bit as good looking and strong as your old stallion! Just one look is all I need to tell you've grown up to be every father's pride! I can't wait to hear everything about you over lunch!"

"Did someone say lunch?" The mother asked happily as she came out of the kitchen area, carrying a large pot in her hoof. Jean's father and little sister grinned brightly as they cheered and ran to the dining table.

But Jean couldn't bring himself to share their excitement. Something about this idyllic family scene just felt off. They all felt so happy, as if the great extinction didn't happen at all. As if they've known Jean all his life and he merely came home to a family lunch after a week of working on Equus.

"Come on big brother!" His sister called, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Lunch is getting cold and mom's cooking is the best on this side of the moon!" Their mother merely chuckled.

"Oh, well. I try." She said humbly. Despite his suspicions, Jean did join his family at the table as his mother started filling their bowls.

"So tell me, Jean," His father began. "How is your work with Luna going down on the planet?" Jean turned to him with a raised eyebrow.

"How do you know about that?" He asked. His father's cheerful expression didn't change.

"We know all about you, son." This was the last straw. Jean's heart rate increased severely as it dawned upon him just how much was wrong with this entire scene. He looked at his mother and sister who were all giving him the exact same wide grin.

"Yeah. We know how Luna took you away from us." The sister spoke, her voice not losing any of its cheer, but its tone changing somewhat. It became more distorted. "Just because she's a goddess she thinks she can take anything she wants. Doesn't she know everyone belongs to their family?"

"Sweetie! That's very rude!" Their mother chided. "But nevertheless true. We are so happy you are back with us, J'inn! And that you'll be staying forever!" There was that claim again. It seemed like the entire family was in on some scheme that Jean wasn't.

"But I cannot stay forever!" He exclaimed. "I will have to return to Equestria! I am duty bound to Princess Luna! My work and friendnship is irreplaceable to her!"

"Don't be silly, son!" His father waved his concerns off. "You cannot go back to Equestria. Your place is here with us. With your family. With the rest of our kind." Jean was beginning to panic at this point.

"The rest of our kind?" He panted. "What are you talking about?!" The family just continued staring at him with wide smiles.

"Oh, big brother, you're such a dummy!" The sister giggled. "Our kind doesn't leave the moon. Ever." Jean couldn't take it anymore. He stood up from the table and frantically backed away.

"Have you all lost your minds?!" He yelled in disbelief at his family's behaviour. "Our kind is dead!" His outburst had no effect on his family's happiness.

"Exactly." They all spoke in unison as they all stood up and began advancing on the frightened Jean. "The dead belong in their graves. This moon is ours."

"Don't be sad, brother." The little girl spoke, her voice growing downright demonic. "You do not belong in the world of ponies anyway. You never did and you never will."

"Exactly, J'inn." The mother continued and as she got closer to Jean, he could see her face beginning to rot away, along with the rest of his family's. "You're the last member of a dead race. How you escaped the same fate that befell us is a mystery, but that mistake will soon be corrected."

And with that, the body of the two female members of the family began to crumble into dust, leaving only his father standing in front of him, but even his body was beginning to fall apart.

"It won't be long, son." He said, his unnerving smile never leaving his face. "Soon our family will be reunited and then the lunar race will be but a distant memory." Jean's eyed widened in fear. Not because of the terrifying scene he was witnessing, but because of what his father's ghost just said, but because it made him remember growing up all alone on the moon.

"No." He muttered as he recalled what it feel like to be the only one of his species, roaming the endless lunar surface aimlessly without any outlook to his future or even his survival. Even the memory of it was so unbearable that he felt the need to get out of there. Once the image of his entire family crumbled away, he finally snapped out of his horrified stupor and ran to the door.

The automated door opened as he got close and ran out, but the sight that greeted him looked like a prefect depiction of how he imagined the lowest pits of Tartarus. Where the barren surface of the moon and a pitch black sky were just ten minutes ago, was now a blood red sky, so bright red that it hurt his eyes. The empty lunar surface was now filled with the same dome shaped houses he just exited from, each one in ruins.

But by far the worst thing was the dead and dying lunars whose bodies that were littered across the ground. They rolled around, moaning in agony as they crumbled into dust just like his family. One of them looked up and upon seeing Jean standing over him, he reached out to him.

"Help me..." The poor creature begged. Jean reached down but the moment his hooves made contact with him, his body also turned to dust. The dust from his body floated up and joined the dust cloud forming from the bodies of the other lunars.

Jean watched in horror as the cloud took the shape of a giant creature with an elongated, pointy head, giant glowing red eyes and razor sharp teeth. The creature stared down at him with barely contained malevolence in its stare before opening its mouth and descending down towards Jean. With his powers stripped from him, the horrified lunar could do nothing but lie down and close his eyes as he awaited his fate. The fate he would share with the rest his kind.





When Jean opened his eyes again, he was surprised to find that he wasn't in the afterlife lunar religion painted for them. Instead, instead, he found himself sitting in his bed and practically swimming in sweat. And instead of the rest of his lunar race greeting him in death, the only pony he could see in the room was his precious friend, Princess Luna.

The princess of the night sat next to his bed with a concerned look on her face. He suddenly realised what just happened. He had a nightmare. A very bad one. Luna's presence made that obvious. But why didn't she intervene was a much bigger mystery.

"What... What time is it?" He asked rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, though he wasn't sure it was the right question to ask first.

"It's almost two hours past midnight." Luna informed him. "I have sensed the trouble within your dream, but I was powerless to intervene." Jean's eyes sprung wide open.

"How is that possible? You are the princess of dreams!"

"I am quite aware of that, thank you." Luna replied dryly. "But there was something different about this dream. Something... bizarre. I'm not sure how to describe it but it was like there was something pushing me out of your dreams each time I tried to enter. Or someone."

Worry filled Jean's being as he recalled the alarming sensation of being watched yesterday. He had no idea if it was relevant but there were way too many worrying things happening to him lately for all of them to be a coincidence.

"Would you like to talk about it?" Luna asked, making Jean look back at her. "Your dream, I mean. I may not have been able to see it, but if you describe it to me, perhaps I would still be able to help you overcome it." Jean wasn't sure if he should. He trusted Luna's expertise when it came to dream interpretation, but he had trouble of making making sense of it and he didn't even know how to start describing it.

"It's... difficult. I think I saw my family, but... I don't even remember what they looked like. How could I have seen them in my dreams?" Luna narrowed her eyes in thought, but didn't say anything, merely nodded for Jean to continue.

"They were all so... happy. It was like a perfectly idyllic family life. But it just felt so wrong somehow. It felt like they were content in death. Not only that, but they wanted me to join them. In fact, it seemed like..." Jean stopped for a moment and just stared ahead of himself with a horrified expression. Luna noticed this and she felt bad about pushing her friend, but she was eager to hear the rest of the dream.

"Seemed like what?" She asked. Jean's horror didn't leave his face as he spoke. It was clear that whatever he was about to say disturbed him greatly.

"Like they knew I would join them in death. They were not inviting me but outright stating it would happen. Like they were speaking from the future." A thought occurred to him as he turned back to Luna. "Could it be possible that this was a premonition rather than a dream?" To his surprise, Luna nodded without hesitation.

"It is definitely possible. I have seen it on more occasions than I can remember. But the fact that something pushed me out of your dream when I tried to enter troubles me even more than its possible meaning." Jean raised an eyebrow.

"How so?" He inquired. Luna cast her eyes down. It was clear that whatever she had to say would not be pleasant but that only made Jean more eager to hear it. Finally, Luna let out a sigh and continued.

"Jean, I do not wish to alarm you, but I theorise that someone deliberately put that dream into your mind. Someone powerful who wanted you to see those images." Jean's eyes widened.

"Deliberate dream manipulation?! How is that possible? Is that kind of power achievable to anypony other than you?"

"I have never known of any creature who has this power apart from me." Luna replied. "But there are other ways to put images into another creature that wants to see into your head." She said pointedly and Jean quickly realised what she was talking about.

"Of course. You are quite aware of my psychic abilities after we've been in connection for such a long time. And in an age where new superpowered individuals appear in Equestria on a weekly basis, it would be easy to attribute this to another one of them. But one question still remains. Why would they target me?" To that, Luna had no answer.

"That eludes me as well." She replied with a shrug. "Are you absolutely certain nopony else knows about your lunar heritage?"

"The only one who knows apart from you is Twilight Sparkle. I figured she would be the perfect candidate to help me get into their new union of heroes. But I made her promise she will not reveal it to her colleagues until I was ready." Needless to say, Luna did not share her friend's faith in the Batmare.

"And you think she would honor such an agreement?" She asked doubtfully. But Jean nodded firmly.

"Even if I did not fully trust my judgement of character, I am not naive, Luna. I have read her thoughts and I assure you, she doesn't plan to reveal it to anypony without my consent. Besides, even if somepony did know my true identity, they couldn't possibly know of what happened to my race."

"Unless they took a peak inside of your head. This is a creature with powerful psychic abilities we're talking about." Luna suggested, but the stallion was skeptical of that theory.

"I am quite an advanced psychic myself, Luna. And the chances of somepony invading my mind without me noticing it are slim to none." He said confidently before letting out a sigh. "I don't know what to do. This whole situation makes no sense."

"Would you like me to cast a nightmare protection spell on you?" Luna suggested. "I developed it myself and made sure it was impenetrable by any counter spell. There is literally no possibility of anything getting through it."

"I appreciate the offer, my friend, but I'm not sure if I will be able to sleep a wink after what just happened to me." Jean replied, shaking his head. "And as I recall, we will be doing a royal inspection of the industrial district tomorrow to see how much damage has been done to it during the invasion." Luna groaned.

"Don't remind me. That is not a task I'm looking forward to." She shuddered, thinking of all the work that awaited her tomorrow.

"Neither do I, but it has to be done. I think I will go to your study and make preparations if that is alright with you." Luna nodded in the affirmative.

"You know you don't have to ask. I gave you free access to the whole castle with the exception of my sister's quarters, of course."

"Noted." Jean remarked dryly. "Well then, I think I have kept you away from your dream walking duties long enough. I bid you goodnight, my friend." Jean said before leaving the room.

Luna watched him go with a sad expression. She could tell that his dream disturbed him far more than he let on. She looked at his bed. He left in such a hurry that he didn't even make it before leaving. Even at two in the morning, that was not like him. She used her magic to quickly remedy that problem before resuming to her own room to continue her patrol of the dreamscape. But on her way, she said a quick prayer for the safety of her friend.

"Be safe, Jean. I need you by my side."





Despite waking up at two in the morning, Jean felt surprisingly refreshed. But just to be sure, he took a quick stop in a bathroom to splash some cool water on his face. More likely than not, he will not be able to fall asleep after what he just experienced so he might as well make the most of it.

He sat down behind Luna's desk and took out a map of Canterlot's industrial district as well as several damage report papers to determine which would be the best course through the area tomorrow. Apart from making himself useful, it would also distract his thoughts from that horrible nightmare.

"What's the point?" The lunar stallion found himself asking after a few minutes of work. He and Luna both knew that it was more than just a simple nightmare. If it was a premonition like he first suspected, then it would come true no matter what he did. But if Luna's theory was correct and there was some psychic supervillan out there trying to get him, distracting his thoughts would only give his foe the advantage of catching him off guard.

He really didn't know why he didn't tell Luna about his feeling of being watched yesterday. If she was right and he was being targeted by a villain that would obviously be important. But then again, he couldn't sense anypony or other creature around with intentions of harming him.

He shook his head and went back to looking over the documents, until suddenly, he felt the exact same threatening feeling returning with a vengeance. He turned around and used his telepathic senses in search of any threatening individuals and unlike yesterday, this time, he did feel a presence nearby.

But it wasn't just lurking around, waiting to strike. It felt like this presence was beckoning him to come to it. It knew that Jean knew it was there and it wanted him to know that as well. It was close. Very close in fact. In his immediate surroundings. It was calling out to him. It wanted him to get out there and go looking for it. Jean decided to humor this mysterious observer.

He walked over to the door and opened only to find himself staring into two giant, glowing red eyes staring at him, oozing with malevolence. And something else. Jean felt all of his strength leaving his body as something strange and alien invade his body as he collapsed onto the ground and began coughing heavily.

He looked up at the mysterious assailant and saw beneath his glowing eyes what appeared to be a set of teeth curled up into a cruel grin. Jean immediately thought of the creature that devoured him in his nightmare and all he could do was pray that this was simply its continuation and when he opened his eyes, he did not wake up on the floor, feeling like he was about to die.
> TLH Vol. 1: SotM: Issue #3: Infection - Part 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"J'inn..." In the infinite mass of space, he heard a voice calling out to him. He didn't recognise who it belonged to, but he must have known it from somewhere because hearing it filled his being with peace and serenity. He felt perfectly safe and carefree as he floated through the void with his eyes closed and his limbs spread wide open on each part of his body.

"Good boy, Jean..." The voice continued. "Give in. Give yourself to oblivion and just float without a care in the world." It was definitely tempting at the moment. Jean would have liked nothing more than to take the voice's suggestion and just float until the end of time. But then he recognised the voice. It belonged to his mother. She was beckoning him to the afterlife just like she was in his nightmare earlier that night.

But this wasn't right. His mother was dead. Just like the rest of his family and his kind. And Jean knew for a fact that the dead had no voice to speak with. And with that realisation, he regained the sense of his being and began to swim away from the voice. The owner of the voice seemed to have realised this, but their only reaction was a light chuckle. It was innocent enough, but for some reason, it still sent shivers down his spine.

"Why do you resist?" The voice asked. "Can't you see this is the way it has to be? A child's place is at their mother's side. And the place of the wayward son is next to his kind." Jean felt a slight tug at his body but he resisted it and kept swimming away.

"You're not my mother." He snarled. "And my kind is dead. My place is at Luna's side now. In Equestria." He insisted.

"Is it?" The voice asked with another chuckle. "Luna may share a special bond with you but what about the rest of ponykind? Don't delude yourself, J'inn. You will never fit in, in Equestria. You will never truly belong. Come to us instead, J'inn. Come home."

"I am." The stallion replied as he kept fighting the pull of the voice. But the pull was getting stronger. No matter how hard he tried to get away, the pull was slowly prevailing.

"It's useless, J'inn!" The voice continued to taunt. "You will join us in sweet oblivion. It is only a matter of time. The more you fight it, the more painful it will be." Jean wasn't listening. He kept struggling and swimming away from the voice, but it only became louder in his ear.

"Do you hear me, J'inn? J'inn?" The voice kept repeating his name, but over time, it was beginning to change. It changed to much more familiar and soothing voice. And the way it pronounced his name changed as well.

"Jean?! Jean, wake up!" Jean felt his entire body beginning to shake as he recognised the new voice as Princess Luna. Suddenly, his surroundings changed in a flash. He was no longer swimming in the endless void of space but sitting behind the Princess' desk, apparently dozing off during his work. "Are you alright?" Luna asked with a concerned expression. "You were sleeping like the dead."

"I'm feeling like the dead as well." Jean grumbled in response. He was so beat that he didn't even realise he said that out loud.

"I knew letting you work during the middle of the night was a bad idea." Luna shook her head before looking at the documents on her desk. "But it looks like you managed to organise my trip in the industrial district after all, so if you want, you can have the day off." Jean would have lied if he said it wasn't tempting. He was quite exhausted and he didn't feel too well, but his sense of duty overcame his concern for his health.

"That will not be necessary. I am quite capable of fulfilling my duties for the day." He told her, trying to put on a brave face, but a huge yawn coming immediately after he stopped talking was all Luna needed to know better.

"No, you are not. I cannot have my trusty aide and confidant fall asleep on me in the middle of official royal business. Can you imagine how that would affect my reputation?" She said, trying to sound casual, but Jean saw right through it. Her concern was unmistakable.

"I cannot imagine how it could be worse than the Nightmare Moon incident." He retorted with a deadpan expression, much to Luna's dismay.

"That hurt, Jean. That really hurt." She replied dryly. "One more dig like that and your daily coffee break is canceled."





Princess Luna's trip through the industrial district was rather uneventful if Jean said so himself. Far too uneventful in fact. Of all the city's districts the Changelings hit, this one had it by far the worst and that meant the inspection of the damages was going to be a lengthy process. A very lengthy and very tedious process.

They were currently passing through a ruined ticket textile factory that several ponies took shelter in during the invasion. This meant that the creatures raided this building severely in search of prey and it showed. Many walls have all but completely collapsed, the equipment was mostly reduced to scrap metal and the materials they've been working with were all destroyed.

The damages were catastrophic for the factory owner and while Luna and Jean both pitied him as well as the several workers who were left without a job, their pity was not enough to surpass the absolute boredom they both felt after only five minutes inside the ruins as the stallion went on and on about the damages he suffered. It didn't help that they have lost count on how many similar buildings they visited that day.

Jean was seriously beginning to regret not taking Luna up on her offer to have the day off. He caught himself in the middle of a huge yawn on several occasions which he always managed to disguise as a sneeze, blaming it on how much dust was there among the ruins, and it was becoming increasingly hard for him to keep himself awake.

"And that's not even going into all the orders that we couldn't fulfill after this awful ordeal!" The owner, an orange earth pony wearing a top hat, complained. "Not to mention the damage our reputation suffered! We used to be the biggest and most reliable supplier of textile in Canterlot! When our clients hear about this, we will lose over half of them!"

Jean realised that the factory owner's grievance was more than legitimate, but at that moment, being absolutely exhausted and feeling under the weather, he just couldn't bring himself to care. He felt another yawn approaching and was already trying to make it look like a sneeze again, but this time, he didn't have to pretend.

Everypony in the room turned to look at Jean when they heard him release a series of violent coughs. He tried to overcome it but eventually it became so bad that he collapsed onto his knees. Luna immediately felt overcome with concern for her friend and rushed to his side to help him up, while the other ponies in the crowd felt more reluctant to approach him.

"Is your companion well, your highness?" The owner asked. "He's been showing signs of a nasty illness today and the last thing I need right now is an epidemic across the workforce." Luna merely gave him a deadpan look in response.

"Your concern over my aide's wellbeing is much appreciated, kind sir." She retorted before turning to Jean. "But he has a point. What is wrong with you today, Jean? You have never been ill before." She asked in a much lower voice to make sure only Jean heard her.

"I am not sure." He replied as the two walked away from the observers. "My lunar immune system is supposed to make me immune to any disease native to your planet. But I do feel rather unwell." He said as he placed a hoof on his forehead. Luna frowned in worry.

"Alright! That does it!" She said firmly, literally putting her hoof down in front of the stallion. "You are heading back to the castle and you are going to rest until I am done for the day! I will have a doctor take a look at you once I return." But Jean shook only his head.

"I do not think that is a good idea. I do not wish to be dismissive of your physicians but my lunar physiology may be beyond their expertise." Luna was forced to agree.

"Good point." She nodded. "But you are still going to rest! That is not up for debate!" The stallion remained defiant.

"Really, Luna! I will be fine! I just..." But Luna held up a hoof to silence him.

"That was not a request, Jean! WE insist you go back to the castle right now and rest!" Jean's eyes widened. She had used the royal we. This rarely happened between them, but it always let him know that Luna meant business. When the princess saw his hesitation, she spoke once more. "Do we need to use the Royal Canterlot Voice as well?" She asked menacingly. That was all the motivation Jean needed to concede.

"Fine, your highness. I will be off then." Jean replied bluntly before turning to leave without even saying farewell. Luna sighed. He was obviously upset with her, but his health mattered more to her than his feelings. She watched him leave what was left of the building before turning to return to her negotiation partners.





Jean was making his way back to the castle at a slow and half-hearted pace. He knew Luna pretty much gave him an order, but he still wasn't eager to get home and rest. He hated nothing more than that. Just lying around and doing nothing while ponies around him worked. It made him feel so helpless. That was the worst feeling in the world.

When his race was dying around him and he could do nothing, he felt helpless. When he roamed the endless, barren wasteland that had become of his home, he felt helpless. When he saw all the death and destruction in his nightmare last night, he felt helpless.

He now perfectly understood Supermare and the other heroes who couldn't restrain themselves from using their powers to help ponies even if they were helping them fix problems they would be perfectly able to handle given the opportunity. Because if they don't, they feel like he was feeling throughout his entire life. Absolutely useless.

He thought maybe if he could help a few ponies out with their problems today on the way back to the palace, he would feel a little better so he activated his telepathic senses to find a pony in need. But when he did, his blood froze. He felt it again. The same evil presence that stalked him last night in Luna's study. It was clear as day.

It was around him somewhere in the city. It wasn't calling out to him like it did last night, but he could sense it all the same. He looked all around the city and eventually he saw a pair of glowing red eyes watching him from the balcony of the bank building in front of him.

When they made eye contact, Jean could feel the same amount of evil pouring from its eyes as last night. Whatever, or whoever this observer was, they hated him deeply. But why? He didn't remember crossing anypony in the past to earn him such an ire.

Of course just because he didn't remember, didn't mean it didn't happen. He did perform several heroic deeds in the past all across the country and it could have been that he did end up angering a very dangerous creature without his knowledge. One who had the means to track him down and figure out who he was.

Who or what this observer was he couldn't begin to imagine but he will know soon. He was right in front of him and apparently he wasn't bothered at all by the fact that Jean obviously spotted him. All he had to do was peek into its head to figure it out but he never got the chance.

Out of nowhere, he heard a huge crash coming from inside the bank that drew his attention away from the entity, which was followed by several desperate cries for help from the ponies inside. Jean briefly looked back at the observer on the balcony, only to see that it was gone. He tried to locate it again, but the screams quickly reminded him that there was a more important task at hoof right now.

He looked around and when he saw that nopony was around, he turned his body intangible and phased through the wall. Inside, a horrible sight greeted him. He expected a group of robbers but the situation was much worse. The equipment the construction workers had been using to rebuild the bank had malfunctioned and exploded.

Some workers have been trapped under the debris brought down by the blast as the spreading fire was approaching them. The ones who escaped the debris weren't in a much better situation as the explosion also damaged the pipes in the wall, making water leak onto the floor right toward the ruined equipment which was obviously still under power. If the water reached the device, those ponies would fry! And to make matters worse, fallen, burning wooden beams were also blocking the exit.

Jean didn't waste any time. He ran up to one of the ponies who was pinned under a fallen marble column and lifted it off of him, much to his astonishment. He pulled the worker out from beneath the column and checked his hind legs for any injuries.

"Are you able to stand?" Jean asked. The pony tried to move his legs but the pain was too great.

"No, they're hurt too much!" He groaned. Jean got him onto his back and carried him to an empty corner far away from the flames and the leaking water. He would be safe there until Jean saved the others.

He heard a scream and looked up to see a unicorn mare dangling from the ceiling, holding onto a cable she caught as she fell during the explosion. She was dangling directly above the water covered floor and electric sparks were flying out of the end of the cable. If she fell, she would no doubt be electrocuted.

Jean didn't know what to do. There was no way he could save that mare without revealing what he was to them. Not to mention going against his belief of helping ponies without his powers. But ponies had to survive before they could learn to solve things without superheroes doing it for them. And when there was a need to act immediately, he had no choice but to act.

With a sigh, he closed his eyes and shifted back to his lunar form, but when he was about to fly up and grab her, he only ended up falling back on the ground powerlessly. His eyes widened in horror. Just like in his nightmare, his powers failed him. Could this mean that it was more of a premonition than a dream?

But he had no time to dwell on that as the mare screamed again, signaling that she was about to fall. Jean had to act quickly. His powers may not be working right now, but his lunar physiology should still be enough to help. He shot himself out with his hind legs and grabbed the poor mare just before the cable hit the ground.

The unicorn opened her eyes to see that she was being carried through the air by a strange figure. Needless to say, after the ordeal with the Changelings, strange figures were understandably panic inducing for her.

"Who... What are you?!" She asked on the brink of tears. "What do you want from me?!"

"I'm here to help, ma'am." Jean said calmly as he grabbed onto the ledge of the upper floor. "Hold on tight. I'm going to bring you down to the ground." When Jean felt her hooves tightening around his neck, he kicked himself away from the ledge and landed in the corner he left the wounded stallion in. Fortunately, he was so preoccupied with his injuries that he didn't even notice Jean's transformation.

Two ponies were safe, but Jean's job was not done. He looked around the room and still saw several trapped workers all over the place. And without his powers, it was gonna be difficult to rescue them. Fortunately, his strength was still there.

He lifted the fallen marble column and raised it over his head and pushed it over to two ponies who were trapped between the flames, just as the electrified water was about to reach them. "Climb it!" He called out to them.

One of them was an earth pony who helped the unicorn climb the column before he pulled him up. The two climbed over the column to reach the safe corner and once they got down, Jean then used the column to break a hole in the wall allowing the four rescued ponies to escape the building.

Once that was done, he used the column to break through the wreckage blocking his access to the next room and proceeded to get in there. He found himself in the main hall which was also covered in debris and flames, causing Jean to narrow his eyes.

It wasn't possible that this also came from the explosion caused by the piece of equipment in the last room. What was going on here? He briefly wondered if the mysterious entity that had been stalking him had something to do with it, but he soon found himself facing bigger concerns.

"Help!" He looked up to see a unicorn stallion dangling from a fallen column on the top floor. Jean jumped up and grabbed him before landing on the upper floor and putting the stallion down.

"How many more of you are in here?" He asked frantically, but he had to wait for the answer until the stallion got over his unusual appearance.

"Uh... Three! We were setting up the new alarm system when the explosion hit from out of nowhere! They're still around somewhere!" He panicked, looking across the hall in search of his coworkers. Jean put a hoof on his shoulder.

"I will find them. Get to safety!" He told him, pointing at the emergency exit next to them. He saw the concern in his eyes and knew he wanted to help, but he had to decline. "You'll be of no help putting yourself in danger here! Get out of here!" The stallion finally sighed and reluctantly left through the fire exit, leaving Jean to deal with the rescue himself.

The flames were spreading rapidly and he couldn't use his telepathy to locate the ponies, but his vision was extremely sharp compared to the average pony. It didn't take long until he spotted an unconscious pegasus mare lying under another piece of debris with the flames getting dangerously close to her body.

Jean jumped down and reached for debris but when he tried to lift it, another coughing fit overcame him. And even his strength seemed to leave him.

"What is..." He couldn't even exclaim through his violent coughs. "Why is this happening to me? And at the worst possible time?!" He tried to ignore the urge to cough and resumed trying to lift the debris off of the mare, but he was losing his strength at a rapid rate. Despite this, he managed to lift it enough to pull the mare free.

"Ma'am, are you alright?" Jean asked as he gently tried to slap the pegasus awake. "Wake up! You need to get out of here!" His efforts were futile so he settled on putting her on his back and jumping up to the second floor. He placed his ear on her chest to make sure she was still alive before searching for the other two.

Eventually, he noticed an earth pony in the corner, surrounded by flames as he held a fire hose he got out from a cabinet on the wall and cursing his luck that it wasn't working. Jean immediately knew what to do.

"Throw that hose up to me!" He called out to him. "I will help you climb up!" The earth pony was rather surprised when Jean called out to him out of nowhere, but he wasn't about to turn down a helping hoof in his situation. He threw the hose up and Jean caught it before tying it around one of the columns that still stood in its place.

"Wrecking Ball! He's still down there!" He panicked as Jean pulled him up. He wasn't even surprised at Jean's alien appearance. Whether his concern for his coworker overwhelmed his shock, or he was simply used to all the unusual beings and happenings around Equestria Jean did not know.

"I will find your friend! You need to get out of here!" But the stallion shook his head feverishly.

"He's my brother! I am not leaving without him!" Jean appreciated his dedication to family, but right now, he had no time for this.

"Do you see her?!" He asked, pointing at the unconscious mare next to them. The stallion's eyes widened.

"That's Golden Dove! I know her! We just celebrated the birth of her niece last week!" He exclaimed.

"See? That mare needs help now! Pick her up and take her outside! You have my word, I will save your brother!" The earth pony looked reluctant but eventually realised that the hero was right. He placed the unconscious mare onto his back and ran through the fire exit.

But Jean's job was not yet done. He had one more pony to save. He jumped down to the ground floor and began frantically searching through the hall. Which was increasingly difficult with how quickly the fires had spread. And the more they spread, the more powerless he felt. And the disease hiding in him seemed to be wearing him down more and more as well.

He collapsed onto the ground and broke down into another heavy coughing fit. He felt like he could pass out any moment now, but he had to fight it. As long as there was one pony who needed him, he couldn't give up. As he got closer to the bank's main entrance, he heard another series of coughs coming from another pony.

He saw the shape of the earth pony worker he was looking for and much like himself, he had trouble keeping himself conscious from the smoke he was inhaling. The sight of a pony in trouble gave Jean the resolve he needed to push himself up from the floor and make his way through the fallen debris.

Jumping over the flames, he placed the barely awake Wrecking Ball onto his back and began to make his way towards the exit. He wasn't even surprised at this point to find that it was also covered by the debris. Collecting every bit of strength he had left, he jumped forward and literally burst through the rubble and the gates behind them, reaching the safety of the streets outside.

A group of firefighters and royal guards were already there trying to stop the flames, as well as a group of medical ponies who immediately took Wrecking Ball into their care. The assembled onlookers all backed away when they noticed the strange figure who rescued the construction worker. Jean could only hope that once the initial surprise wore off, they would not freak out too bad from discovering another alien among them, but he didn't find out. The entire world went black around him as he finally gave in to weakness, exhaustion and whatever infection was plaguing him and collapsed.
> TLH Vol. 1: SotM: Issue #4: Infection - Part 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Despite the uncomfortable circumstances, Jean was thankful that he could get a full, eight hour sleep without it being interrupted by visions or nightmares. Though he wasn't entirely certain if it could be classified as sleep if you passed out from exhaustion and pain.

Pain. During yesterday's rescue operation from the unexpected bank fire, he felt more pain than he ever did since he came to Equestria. At least in a physical sense. That alone didn't frighten him as much as he thought it would. If anything, it was a refreshing experience. Being in pain like the ordinary equines helped him feel like he was one of them. What frightened him was that he had no idea what was causing it.

His troubles were connected to his mysterious, shadowy stalker. Of that, he had no doubt anymore. There were far too many things happening around them to be a mere coincidence. Jean knew that once he recovered, his main priority will be tracking this entity down, finding out who he is, what he wants and if necessary - which more than likely will be - stopping him.

But when his body was shaken by another series of heavy coughs, he was uncertain how soon that recovery will be. Perhaps his main priority should be figuring out what disease has taken hold of him and treating it before going after the phantom. He couldn't hope to conduct a competent investigation in this state.

Jean felt like he had enough rest and was about to jump out of the bed when he was greeted by the disapproving and concerned face of Princess Luna. That's when he realised that he wasn't lying in his own bed or even a hospital bed somewhere in Canterlot. It was far too soft and comfortable for that.

He looked around and noticed the theme of the room. The dark blue curtains and bedsheets along with the circular rug in the middle of the room and the ceiling which both were enchanted to resemble the night sky. The vanity mirror next to the wall with the thestral shaped wooden frame.

He didn't need the detective skills of Batmare to realise that he was in Princess Luna's personal quarters. And it made him feel extremely uncomfortable. He was about to address the issue but the Princess spoke first.

"Tell me, what is the point of me concerning myself with your wellbeing if you are going to ignore my advice for its preservation?" The images of his saving of the construction workers from the burning Bank building quickly came back to him. Including the part where he burst through the bank door to save Wrecking Ball and being discovered by the ponies of Canterlot as being an alien superhero.

He looked down at his body and saw that he wasn't in the shape of Jean Jeans, loyal aide of Princess Luna. He was in his lunar shape. He looked at Luna in shock and the princess already knew what he was going to ask so she nodded in advance.

"You have made my life quite more difficult than it already is." Luna told him on a voice that made it obvious that she was not pleased with him. "I had to publicly reveal your existence to Equestria, explain in great detail why I kept you hidden in the palace and reassure the entire population that you don't intend to overthrow our government, enslave our stallions and claim our mares as breeding stock. Let me tell you, my sister was not amused. And frankly, neither am I."

Jean looked down in shame. But the shame was short lived as he remembered what happened in the bank. If he didn't intervene, those ponies would have surely perished. And that knowledge gave him enough confidence to look the alicorn in the eye without a hint of regret.

"I realise my actions may have been foolhardy. But I will stand by them. I still believe that ponies should not become overreliant on the help of superpowered individuals, but that will not stop me from saving them from imminent life threatening danger." The two of them held their stoic eye contact for several seconds until Luna's expression melted into a warm smile.

"I know you will. Which is one of the qualities I most admire about you." Jean was completely speechless. This was not the reaction he expected. "I have always known you as a noble, chivalrous and heroic stallion and I know you wouldn't stop from helping ponies in need. Even if the political backlash of this revelation is going to be felt for a long time to come." Jean felt his shame returning as he realised just how much inconvenience he caused his dear friend, but Luna merely waved his concerns off.

"But that can wait. For now there is a more important matter at hoof. And that is your wellbeing. How are feeling?" Jean wasn't as dismissive of the consequences of his reveal to Equestria as the Princess, but it was clear to him that Luna was far more worried about him, so he focused on that matter for now.

"I am..." Jean struggled with finding the right words. "...not sure. I am pleased with the outcome of my rescue of those ponies, but I am also concerned."

"About what?" Luna asked, shifting all of her worries around her friend. She got her answer right away when Jean began to cough again, just like in the ruined factory. "I see." She frowned. "This is getting serious, Jean. You need to get yourself looked at."

"I will" Jean assured her. "Eventually. But right now, I believe we have a bigger concern on our hoof." Luna raised an eyebrow.

"Bigger than your health? What could that be?"

"Equestria’s safety." Jean answered without hesitation. "I believe you were right, Luna. There is a powerful psychic entity coming after me. I saw him just before the fire broke out in the bank. It is more than likely it was responsible for it. As well as the infection plaguing me." Luna cast her narrowed eyes down. It was clear that she was not pleased by this development.

"If this is true, then not only did this entity endanger my country and my subjects but also my dearest friend." She growled with slowly growing fury. "I assure you, Jean, I will find it and make it answer for its crimes." But to Luna's surprise, the stallion merely shook his head.

"No, Luna! This is something I will have to deal with myself. For some reason, I cannot help but feel like this is a personal matter between me and my shadowy stalker. It seems to be particularly interested in me for some reason and if that is the case, I cannot allow you to get involved."

"While your concern is much appreciated, I would like to remind you that I am quite capable of taking care of myself." Luna replied, matter of factly.

"I have no doubt you are." Jean said dryly. "But I feel like this entity has something to do with my lunar heritage." Luna's eyes widened.

"What gives you that idea?"

"You remember the nightmare I told you about this morning?" Luna nodded. "This figure showed up immediately after that. Everything that has befallen me began when this phantom showed up. And given how my nightmare was about the destruction of my race..." Jean stopped for a moment, uncertainly taking hold of him. It was like even he knew what he was about to say was impossible. But he finally found the right words. "I believe it originates from my old home. The moon."

"How could that be possible?!" Luna exclaimed, shocked by the absurd claim. "You told me your entire race is extinct!"

"That is what I always believed." Jean answered. "But I could not say for sure. There may have been survivors for all I know, but I doubt our phantom friend is one of them. In fact... I suspect it may be the force responsible for our presumed extinction."

A terrible silence descended upon the room. It took Luna quite a few seconds to process this information. She was about to ask him why he believed this to be the case, but then the lunar stallion let out another series of coughs.

"This is why I believe so." He answered for her. "My illness began when the phantom first encountered me in your study last night. I felt the exact same symptoms when it first contacted me and they have only been getting worse."

Jean got out of bed and slowly walked up to the window. Celestia's sun was almost down and it would soon be time for his mistress to raise the moon. He didn't want to take up any more of her time but he needed to reassure her that he would be fine.

"For all my life, I have been wondering why my people disappeared. When I came to Equestria, I tried my best to move on and become one of you. But now that I have even the slightest chance to discover what happened to the lunars, I feel like I would not be able to live with myself if I wasted it. Not to mention all those ponies who could be pushed into danger with the phantom roaming free. I do not want a repeat of the bank incident."

"What about your illness?" Luna asked in concern. "You cannot face this threat in this condition!" Jean nodded.

"I realise that. But even though my secret is out, I still do not trust myself to the expertise of your physicians." He looked out the window in the direction of a very specific city. "At the moment, there is only one pony I trust myself to."





When Spike was about to lock the Atheneigh Library up after an exhausting day, he did not expect to meet a stallion outside, asking to see Twilight personally. Twilight was rather reclusive and he had known all of her associates, but this stallion was a complete stranger to him. And given all the dangerous ponies who might have it in for his caretaker, needless to say he was very hesitant to let him meet her.

But to his surprise, as soon as Twilight heard the name Jean Jeans, not only did she welcome him into the library with open hooves, but took him directly down to the Batcave! After they went down, Twilight told him to lock up the library and meet them downstairs.

And as if the end of the day wasn't surprising enough already, when he got down to the cave, he saw Twilight with a strange looking, hairless stallion lying on a medical bed inside the CT scanner they installed to inspect Twilight's body for any unseen injuries. It became a necessity with the increasing number of super criminals the Batmare had to face night after night.

"Uh..." Spike rubbed his head in confusion. "You guys mind filling me in on what the hay is going on here?" He asked.

"Spike, meet Jean Jeans." Twilight replied casually as she pointed at the alien she was scanning without looking at the young drake. "Royal aide of Princess Luna and the last known living member of an alien civilisation from the moon. He arranged for us and the other heroes to travel to the wedding and defeat the Changelings." She explained. Spike looked at the alien who gave him a small wave in return.

"A pleasure, Spike. Even though we already met at the wedding." Spike stared at him for a few seconds before shrugging.

"Alright, so what brings you here?" He said as he walked up to Twilight to help her analyse the results. Once Jean explained everything, Twilight and Spike knew exactly what to look for.

"We would have an easier time with this if we had a clue what your physiology looks like in the first place, Jean." Spike said.

"But we compared the cells we found inside your body to every disease known to ponykind and we did see several similarities between some of them." Twilight added as she ejected Jean's bed from the CT scanner. The stallion walked over to the computer screens and saw the results of the scan showing an image of his cells, along with the virus being highlighted with red lights.

"So this is what is slowly killing me." Jean noted somberly. Twilight nodded.

"The good news is that the spreading appears to be very slow." Twilight explained. "We have only discovered a few infected cells but we don't know how the virus works exactly. Something might accelerate the spreading or we could even find a way to slow it down even further. Or maybe to stop it completely. We're not exactly medical experts, but we could run a few tests to see how it reacts to certain situations." Jean nodded.

"I believe that would be for the best. There was another thing I wanted to discuss with you anyway."

"And what would that be?" Twilight asked. Jean began to feel uncomfortable as he recalled how he lost his powers during the bank rescue. He didn't want that to happen again. Twilight keenly listened to the story he told, trying to pick apart every minor detail in her head to realise what would be the best approach to unroot the problem. By the time Jean finished, she already had a plan.

"I think we should put you through a few tests, Jean. To see if your powers are fully restored and we might even discover what causes them to suddenly go out like that. Are you feeling fit enough to start?" Jean nodded. That may have been a lie. He wasn't particularly well, given the infection he was exposed to, but he didn't want to waste any time. He wanted to get to the bottom of this entire mystery as soon as possible.

"Good. Then let's start with your most commonly used ability. Can you shapeshift right now?" In response, Jean merely closed his eyes and the two observers watched in awe as his body began to mold like clay and change colour. When the transformation was over, an exact replica of Twilight Sparkle was standing in front of them.

"Yes. That ability seems to be working just fine." Twilight said as she picked up a clipboard and wrote something on it.

"Cool!" Spike marveled at the sight. "Can you do me to?" He asked with a huge grin, making Twilight chuckle. Her little assistant may have been very mature for his age, but he was still an adolescent. Jean closed his eyes again and morphed into the dragon's mirror image. Spike went up to him to get a closer look and Jean didn't seem to mind. "Is this really how the scales on my back look?"

"Focus, Spike!" Twilight reprimanded. "And set up a few targets for Jean in our training area, would you?"

Spike quickly did as he was instructed. The Batcave's training area was upgraded to swiftly set up practice dummies and other sort of obstacles. Another necessity with the increasing number of supervillan activity in Manehattan. Spike just had to press a button on a computer panel and three wooden ponyquins sprung up from the ground.

"Go ahead, Jean." Twilight instructed. For a few moments, the stallion wondered which of his powers he should use first, but in the end, he settled on blasting the targets to pieces from afar with his heat vision. "Heat vision seems work fine." Twilight noted as she wrote some more onto her clipboard. "Carry on."

Jean took off into the air and began to float around the training area to test his flight coordination. Twilight and Spike shared a small smirk as they decided there was no reason to make this too easy for the alien. Spike pressed a button on the panel and a few steel walls popped up from the ground, right in front Jean. The lunar hero was surprised but he managed to react just in time to avoid them.

"Flight and reflexes work impeccably." Twilight wrote. "Jean, could you land? I wish to test something else." The lunar granted the request and Spike made four steel walls surround Jean and he closed down the gap at the top with another one. Jean quickly realised what Twilight wanted him to do and punched a hole through the wall before jumping through it.

"Super strength, check." Twilight noted.

"And replacing that broken steel plate will also cost a nice cheque." Spike remarked dryly. "What's next?" Jean thought for a while.

"Could you raise some more walls? With only slight gaps between them?" Twilight and Spike looked at each other in confusion at the odd request.

"Sure, but what for?" Jean smirked.

"You will see." With a shrug, Spike did as Jean asked and surrounded him with a series of steel walls with barely enough space between them to peek through. Jean closed his eyes and began to concentrate. Twilight and Spike watched keenly as the stallion's body began to stretch like rubber.

They watched in wide eyed astonishment as Jean effortlessly squeezed his way through the tiny gaps, stretching and flattening his body like he didn't even have bones.

"I don't believe it!" Spike exclaimed. "Is there anything this guy can't do?" Twilight was no less shocked and it took her a few seconds to get over it.

"Well, I guess we're about to find out, aren't we?" She then turned to the stallion who just finished squeezing himself through the steel maze. "Anything else in your superpower repertoire?"

While Jean was normally a humble individual, he would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy the attention and the amazed reactions he got from the two onlookers. They had no idea what more he was capable of but he would enjoy showing it off. Instead of an answer, he closed his eyes again and turned himself invisible in front of the unicorn and while he didn't see her reaction, her loud gasp was enough for him to imagine her current expression.

"I take it that is the same trick you pulled on me outside Donut Joe's shop when you revealed yourself to me." Twilight said, looking around in an effort to spot anything that might give Jean's location away.

"Correct." She heard from behind herself, jumping in shock before turning around to see Jean becoming visible again. "I made my body reflect the beams of light falling on it, hiding myself from the naked eye."

"Remarkable." Twilight said as she wrote some more onto her clipboard.

"At this point, I don't think anything you can do will surprise me." Spike added. Jean apparently took that as a challenge because he decided to amaze his audience with another trick. Before the two could say another word, the stallion phased through the floor and reappeared behind the young dragon.

“Are you sure about that?” Jean mused, making Spike jump. Twilight was impressed.

‘Super strength, flight, invisibility, intangibility, polymorphism… Amazing! Not even Applejack has such a wide range of abilities.’ She thought as she wrote more notes.

“Well, Jean, it seems to me that all of your powers are working just fine at the moment. What do you suppose could have made you lose them back in that bank?”

“I cannot say for certain.” Jean replied, putting a hoof to his chin in thought. “Perhaps it was the virus. I was already infected by that time.” But Twilight shook her head.

“Highly unlikely. As I said, the infection is still very minor. Even if it does affect your powers at a more advanced stage, there’s no way it could now. The virus is simply not widespread enough.” Jean went back to his thoughts. If not the virus, then what could it possibly be that caused the loss of his abilities? He rewound the events of the bank rescue in his head and no matter which part he remembered, one thing was always constant in his memory fragments.

The fire. There was fire everywhere and the closer he got to the flames to rescue the ponies trapped behind them, the weaker he felt. He winced as he recalled the feeling of the heatwaves on his body. Could it be that his weakness came from something so basic as one of the four elements of nature? There was only one way to be sure.

“Can you make a fire in the training area?” He asked suddenly. Twilight nodded and retreated behind the computer panel with Spike who pressed a button on it. Jean found himself surrounded by a circle of flames. His first instinct was flying away, but when he jumped up to take flight, he fell back on the ground like a piece of rubble.

The flames came closer and closer to his body and he once again felt his strength completely leave him. Though he knew it was useless, he began to blow at the flames. His breath would be powerful enough to put the flames out by itself, but just like the rest of his powers, they weren’t working at the moment. There was not a shadow of a doubt in him at this point. Fire was the cause of his weakness.

The flames were almost completely upon him and he collapsed onto the ground. His body felt like it was weighed down by hundreds of thousands of tons of rocks from above. He couldn’t lift any part of his body. The fire was only inches away from his face when he heard Twilight’s voice from afar.

“Spike, shut it down! Shut it down NOW!” The flames suddenly disappeared, but Jean still felt like a sack of rocks in the bottom of a lake. He felt Twilight put one of his front legs around her neck and carry him out of the training area. As the unicorn carried him off, he found enough of his strength returning to crack a joke.

“Well, I suppose now we know what causes my powers to leave me, don't we?” He chuckled.

“Not the time, Jean.” Twilight said as she placed the lunar on the medical bed.

“It's never the time with her. “Spike added. “Don't try to appeal to her sense of humor. She doesn't have one.”

“Shut up, Spike!” Twilight told him curtly before turning back to Jean. “Are you alright?” Jean nodded.

“I am significantly better, thank you.” He replied as he sat up. “With the fire gone, my strength is returning.” To prove his point, he floated up into the air, but the group's relief was short lived as he erupted into another coughing fit.

“What's wrong?” Twilight asked in concern. The lunar stallion floated back onto the ground but he couldn't answer. He was still coughing heavily. Twilight quickly realized that this must be the result of the virus inside his body.

“Spike, get him back inside the CT scanner!” The dragon ran off to do as he was told and Twilight sat behind the monitor to check the immediate results. What she saw was frightening to say the least. The viral infection has gone through a significant spread.

“This is bad!” She muttered in horror. Jean had thankfully stopped coughing, but his immune system could only take so much. Twilight had to do something. Since she didn't have a better idea, she administered a vial of antibiotics into Jean's body.

It was a big gamble since she had no way of telling how it could affect his alien biology, she only hoped that the similarities between the virus affecting him and equine diseases would mean that it would react the same.

The gamble paid off as Jean's coughing fit stopped and to Twilight's delight, the infection on the monitor was beginning to be pushed back by the injection. Even if only slightly.

“How are you feeling?” The mare asked. Jean took a gulp and a deep breath before answering.

“A little better, thank you. I do not know what you gave me, but it worked.” Twilight sighed in relief.

“Sadly, it did not cure you. It managed to push the infection back, but not by much.”

“Can I pull him out now, Twi?” Spike asked.

“Not yet, Spike! There's something I want to check.” She then turned back to Jean. “What do you think caused this sudden burst of the virus?”

“I am not certain. Maybe it was the fire. If it can cause me to lose my abilities, it could have other negative effects.” He replied.

“Would it be okay if we tested that?” Jean nodded in approval. Twilight gave Spike a matchstick and the dragon lit it with his breath before going up to Jean and waving it above him. Even the small flame was enough to make Jean feel weak, but he did not feel his health worsening.

“I think we can rule that out.” Twilight said, taking some more notes. “Spike has been doing that for a minute and there wasn't even a cough. But if it wasn't the fire, then what was it?”

“It could have been anything!” Spike said as he put out the match. “He was perfectly fine before the cough kicked in. Even his powers worked with no issue whatsoever.” Twilight’s eyes widened as Spike’s last line gave her an idea.

“His powers? Jean, did you say you believe the virus is an artificial creation to destroy lunar lifeforms?”

“Yes. Given to me by the mysterious phantom stalking me.” Jean replied.

“Could you use one of your powers while in the scanner? Just for a few seconds?” Jean closed his eyes and used his shapeshifting to change his appearance to the one he wore in public as Luna’s assistant. Twilight looked back at the screen and her suspicion was confirmed.

“Stop it! Right now!” Twilight cried, making Jean abort the shapeshifting process and revert back to his Lunar appearance. “It is as I thought. Whenever you use your powers, the infection rate accelerates. I hate to say it, but you were right. Whoever designed this virus designed it specifically for your kind. They knew about your special abilities and they wanted you to die the faster you used them.”

Jean processed this information slowly as he was ejected from the CT scanner. Twilight and Spike watched him as he sat there, deep in his thoughts, staring ahead of himself with an unreadable expression. They looked at each other, not sure what they should say. Eventually, it was the dragon who found his voice first. He was a lot better with social interactions than his caretaker.

“Are you alright?” He asked, putting a claw on Jean’s shoulder. His words managed to snap the lunar out of his thoughts.

“Now that I know what has happened to me, I will be.” Jean replied, jumping off the bed with a look of determination. “And now I also know what I will have to do.”

“What?” Twilight asked curiously.

“I will fight the phantom.” Jean replied simply. He was about to leave the cave, but Twilight stopped him.

“How will you do that? We just discovered that using your powers accelerates the infection. It could kill you.” Before Jean could answer, Spike did it for him.

“The way I see it, if he just sits around and does nothing, that will kill him all the same. He needs to find this guy to get the antidote.” Twilight raised an eyebrow at her dragon assistant.

“Spike, this is an extra-equestrial virus developed solely to wipe out an entire species. Why would the developer bother to make an antidote?” Spike just smiled in response.

“Villains always have antidotes! They’re funny that way.”

“While young Spike’s reasoning may be flawed, I believe he does raise a good point.” Jean replied, “Even if there is no antidote, if the developer possesses the knowledge to make this virus, he knows how to make one. I have to find him.”

“Still the same question.” Twilight asked. “How?”

The question was good. Jean is going to have to use his powers sparingly from now on given the recent discoveries, but there was one of his skills the virus would have no effect on. His mind. He looked up at the wall to see a poster - no doubt hung up by Spike as decoration - showcasing a fictional detective even he read some stories about, The Question. As he observed the figure’s attire consisting of a fedora hat and trenchcoat, an idea hit him.

“Leave that to me, Miss Sparkle.”