> Embracing the Night
>  by NightInk
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Things Fall Apart
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	So, the funny thing is that I wasn’t even watching ponies when this all began.

I was working on a Psychology assignment and listening to an episode of Family Guy in my dorm room when she fell into my life. And my room. Literally, fell. I was typing and all of a sudden there was a big, swirling, dark purple portal swirling on the ceiling of my room. It didn’t make a lot of noise, just kind of floated there and hummed loud enough to be heard and noticed. And then an unconscious pony fell onto my bedroom floor. More importantly, Princess Luna fell onto my floor. She looked mostly like what the show depicted her to be like. She was tall, from what I could tell from her laying there, and she was a beautiful night blue color. She was real, obviously, but still almost seemed to have a cartoon-y appearance about her.
Except I didn’t quite register all this in that moment. Mostly, my was going “Don’t shit yourself, don’t shit yourself, don’t shit yourself…” I mean, what am I supposed to do, pick her back up, go through the portal myself, and say “Hey, I’m the guy living downstairs, and I think you dropped this. Do you want it back?” But before I could do anything, it began to fade and disappeared in a matter of seconds. As soon as it vanished completely, she started to move. She groaned and sat up on her haunches, her beautiful, cutie marked haunches, and held her head. Well, I guess she held her head. Kind of hoofed it, really. She groaned a little, and I sat there like an idiot, unable to say a word. When she finally noticed me though, I knew it.
“GREAT TATARUS, WHAT MANNER OF CREATURE IS THIS?!?” Wow, she sounds just like in the show. Of course, I was lucky my windows didn’t shatter. Or my eardrums. I finally worked up the nerve to say something.
“Uuh, doowah fuh jubjub buuuhhh…” Well, I was making noise, at least.
“AND IT SPEAKS!! DO NOT FEAR, WE MEAN NO HARM TO THEE OR THY WORLD!!” Thankfully that yell knocked me back to my senses.
“Um, sorry, but is there any chance you can stop yelling so loudly? The neighbors are going to think I’ve gone insane, and that would draw attention.”
“Oh, sorry. We--I will try to do better.” After that we both just kind of sat there. There wasn’t a lot we could really do until we both got caught up with the situation, and I was seriously tweaking out. She made the first move.
“So, just what are you, anyways?”
“Uh, I’m just a person. A human. A very confused human. And I don quite know how to be tactful, per-se, so I’m going to be very blunt, all right?” She nodded once. “What the hell is the pony Princess of Night doing in my bedroom?!” I yelled, probably a bit too loudly.
“Well, I’m not entirely sure myself. I had just… Wait, how do you know I’m the Princess of the Night?” Oh, oops. Didn’t think about that.
“Umm, that’s a bit of a story. Suffice it to say I know a lot about Equestria, Canterlot, you, and Celestia, among other things. Can we go back to the part where your falling into my room?”
She eyed me curiously, and I could tell she didn’t quite trust, or believe, probably, what I was saying. But she continued, “Well, I was walking to my tower after talking to Celestia about a threat that had been made against Canterlot, when I got light-headed and passed out. The next thing I can recall is waking up here in your chambers.”
“Seriously? That’s it? You realize that’s not much to go on, right? What was the threat to Canterlot?”
“The source and manner were unknown to us, just that there was some sort of threat being made. For all we knew it could have been some new creature we had never heard of before…” she said, raising an eyebrow. “Maybe one from outside Equestria. It is possible so long as they knew about our land.” Crap. Now I was a suspect in a royal threat because I accidentally spilled about knowing Equestria. If I have to start censoring everything I say, I’m in trouble. Thinking before I speak isn’t my strongest point.
As I thought, I noticed her horn beginning to faintly glow. I started to back up with my hands raised. “Um, Princess, I know this probably looks really bad, but I swear, I didn’t knock you out and bring you here, nor did I make a threat to Equestria. I’m just… a guy… I guess… I don’t know, I was just sitting here and you fell in here! Oh, jeez, please don’t magically skewer me, I need all my organs in their current working condition!!”
She didn’t advance, but she didn’t back down either, and she still looked suspicious and upset. “And how do we know we can trust you? You do still know a lot about us, and we only have your word. Not knowing what manner of creature you are, we cannot just accept your word at hoof.”
I gotta admit, she’s a smart lady. “Yeah, those are all good points, and I don’t think I’d trust me in this situation either, but I’m telling the truth, I swear! I give you my honor, I don’t have any plans against the crown, and I’m just a normal dude. I cant speak for the rest of humanity, but I keep my honor. I’m a good guy! I’ll even show you how I know about Equestria!”
She seemed to buy that, thank Celestia. She took a less… offensive stance, and her horn stopped glowing. “Fine. Show us how you know so much about us. Or else we may have to ‘magically skewer’ you,” she said with the faintest hint of a smirk. Wonderful, she has a sense of humor. About killing me.
I had to take a second to calm down. I felt like I was going to hurl, an dmy trash can was full of old take out containers. All I needed now was for something else to go wrong, and I’d be primed for a breakdown.
	Knock-knock-knock.
Oh, that is bull.

> Settling In
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Knock-knock-knock
“Oh, shiiiit…”
“What is it?”
“I forgot, I had a friend coming over to study for the upcoming exam.”
“… Aaaand?” She raised her eyebrow like someone walking in and seeing her would be no big whoop.
“That’s it! Ponies don’t talk here on earth! They also don’t have magical horns, wings, cutie marks, or purple fur!”
“Oh.” Her eyes grew wide, I guess at the thought of such boring equine roaming around.
I sighed. “Crap. Ok, stay here, I’m gonna go get rid of her.” I ran to the door just before she knocked again, but only opened it far enough to stick my head out. “Heyyyy. Ashley. Hows it going?”
“Uh, fine?” The tall blonde obviously expected a different greeting. “So, you did remember we’re studying today, right?”
“Yes! Of course I did! I just… didn't… forget the… book?” God, I was acting like I was in every cliché awkward movie moment with a door.
“So, are you going to let me in?”
“Um, no, I was thinking that the studying could be done through osmosis. You know, stuff flowing against it’s concentration gradient? Because we’re already smart, so more knowledge would go into our heads… Of course, I’m a friggin’ idiot right now, so it would be regular diffusion. Your smart, though, so it’d be against the gradient.” (in case you haven’t figured it out, I ramble when I’m nervous.)
“You know, you always ramble when your nervous. Is everything ok? Please tell me you remembered to put pants on.”
“Oh, God, am I really coming off as that much of a buffoon?”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
“All right then. Well, either way, I’m not going to be able to study today. I’ve got psych to do and communications to… ponder. Sorry, I’ll text you when I can. Really soon.”
She just kind of laughed, but I think I was beginning to scare her. “Well, ok then. I’ll see you later then.”
“Ha, ha. Ok then. Bye!”
I went back to my room to find Luna seconds away from doubling over in laughter. “Was that amusing to you?”
“Oh, GODS, yes!!!” she yelled as her calm broke. “I haven’t seen anything so pathetic since Tia got her horn stuck in the chandelier of the great dining hall!!”
“Fantastic. I’m a multi-dimensional loser. Lookit this guy. Whoo.” I just embarrassed myself in front of LUNA. As in best pony. Maybe she should have zapped me earlier.
“Oh, don’t worry any. Dating is difficult,” she said. “Especially after a thousand years magically tethered to a bucking moon.”
It was my turn to laugh. “I imagine so!” Thank goodness she was at least feeling more comfortable and less murderous.
“Speaking of which, you need to tell me how you know about me yet,” she said, her face growing more serious again. I’m beginning to think I have no private thoughts anymore.
“All right, let me get to my computer.” It didn’t take long to cue up my videos, and I just hit ‘play’. It didn’t matter what episode I played, this was going to be a bombshell for her.
…

Forty-four minutes later we had watched the first two episodes. Luna didn’t say anything, just sat there staring at the screen. And I sure as hell wasn’t going to break the silence. After five minutes, though, I felt like something needed to be said.
“Say something?”
She just blinked slowly and took a shaky breath in. Finally, she quietly said, “So, in this world, ponies like us are nothing but a television show?”
I kind of felt bad for her. I mean, I’d personally be elated if I was a show character in another world, but I’m weird that way. “Umm, kind of. But not just a TV show. You’re a bit of a… huge hit among certain people. Theres a group of us who really love you, and really wished you were real, and if you were that you would come here.”
She breathed in again, slowly, like she was practicing so she didn’t forget. “Ok then. I can live with this. I’ve dealt with worse than being admired by people in another world.”
I had to say something to make her feel better. “Well, if it makes you feel better, I personally think you’re the best pony.”
She looked at me and I could see her eyes trying unsuccessfully not to tear up. “Really?” she practically peeped.
“Um, yeah.” I could feel myself turning as red as Big Mac. “Trying to be truth-some here, the way your kind of socially awkward and keep switching from formal plural and casual manners of speaking is… really great..”
Her face relaxed and she began to smile. “Yeah, I guess. Well, I’ve been working on it. I’ve been using osmosis to try and speed up the learning process.” We both had a good laugh, and I couldn’t help thinking, ‘I’m sitting here casually flirting with Luna!!’
I might squee.

…

That was all a lot for her, so I didn’t press any questions about the threat on Canterlot. I didn’t want to make her worry. We just made small talk for a while and she seemed to lighten up. A nice relaxing night in a stranger’s room was just what she needed, oddly enough. Too bad I didn’t know what ponies or princesses did for fun. Write stupid laws and throw them out? No, that’s what Congressmen do, except they pass them…
“So, what do you humans do for fun?” Luckily she asked first.
“Well, I personally play a lot of videogames, read, watch TV… Sorry, I don’t go out much, and really you can’t right now anyways.”
Her eyes brightened up though. “Wait, you have video games here?” Oh, thank you sweet baby, adult, and every Jesus in between, I was sitting talking with not just Princess Luna, but Gamer Luna. “Yeah, we do,” I said with a smile. “I don’t have a lot for multi-players, but if you know how to use a GameCube controller, we can play ‘Smash Bros.’ or ‘Mario Kart’. Well, I can teach you, anyways.”
She shot straight up out of her seat on the floor. “We have those too! We have those too! We have those too! Let‘s play ‘Smash Ponies’!” I had never seen anyone, pony or otherwise, this excited about ‘Smash Bros.’, and certainly not ‘Mario Kart’.
Ten minutes, one of my controllers and a can of Mountain Dew were held firmly in her magical aura, and while she was getting used to playing with a human Mario she was telling me which games they had in Equestria that had apparently never been shown in the show. Most games and characters were pony-fied, and Pokemon was just Pokemon, oddly enough. It was surprising just how much was similar between our two worlds, and we were both feeling much more comfortable. In fact, she seemed to have pushed the whole ‘threat against Canterlot’ thing out of her mind in the belayed elation of being in a new world with ‘an unknown subject’, as she put it.
And she was good. Once she got past the whole ‘bipedal’ issue, she just couldn’t be stopped as Mario. My Young Link couldn’t hold up, which was odd for that match-up. The slaughter went on for hours. As she brought my lives to zero again, I voiced myself. “What the hell! How can you be this good?!”
She laughed, took a quick drink, and said, “We have a lot of time after we raise the moon and the-PONYFEATHERS!! I haven’t done that yet! What time is it?!”
I checked my phone and said “It’s 11:30, but you don’t have to-”
“Don’t have to what, perform our trusted duty that we had performed for ages prior to our imprisonment and for these few years since our release?!” she yelled as she opened the blinds and looked outside, priming her magic. “It’s-!”
“Not necessary!” I finally cut in. “Luna, here on earth the moon rises on it’s own and the stars are in a fixed position. It’s not all don’t by magic here, instead it’s science. See?’ I added as she realized I was right.
“But, how is it…?” She almost looked heartbroken. “How?”
“It’s a lot to explain, and if I were to do it I’d screw it up anyways. But the moon isn’t your responsibility here. You can relax, I guess.” Poor girl. It brought her back to the fact that she wasn’t at home helping protect against the threat against her home. I walked up and put my arm on her shoulder. “I’m sorry.”
She just kept looking at the night sky. “It’s strange looking up and thinking it’s not me or my sister helping keep order here. It’s strange not having anything to worry about, or having any expectations of me. You don’t need to be sorry.”
“Yeah, I know, I just hate seeing you upset.”
She got that cute mischievous grin back and looked sideways at me. “Wow, for not having any sort of way with girls, you try to move fast, don’t you?”
I turned Big Mac red again. “Oh, that wasn’t what I was… I mean, I wasn’t trying to… Goddamnit…”
She just laughed. “Don’t worry about it, you kind of cute when your clueless or embarrassed. For a human.”
“That’s pretty much all the time, you know. Being clueless and embarrassed is my thing.”
“I know.”

AUTHORS NOTE: So, a few things. I kind of apologize for the cracks against Mario. It’s not that it‘s a bad game, in fact they’re very good, and Mario is a pretty good Smash character. Zelda is just infinitely better in my opinion. So Mario jokes will probably be made if I get to do another game scene. Also, this may be a long story. I don’t feel like I can just skip right ahead to action and adventure without developing the romance part more. With any luck, we’ll think it turned out well. Lastly, this will not be a human-on-pony type of romance. One of us will change. Or maybe both. Who knows?

> I'm a magical genius? Really?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	After that we both fell asleep, me on the bed, her on the floor in all the clean laundry I could find for bedding. She kind of eyed the pony shirts, but didn’t say anything. I guess she just figured it out. When I woke up though, it wasn’t to my iPod blasting ‘Hearts’ “Magic Man” at 8:04 am like most mornings. Instead, it was what sounded like a war going on in my shower at 6:30.
“AAH!! DAMNEDABLE CONTRAPTION!! WE COMMAND THE TO CEASE THY SCALDING OF OUR FLANKS!!” Aah, now it made sense.
I had to stop her before she destroyed my bathroom and caused damage I had to pay for. I burst through the door to find her standing on the floor outside the shower, soaking wet, and the head of the shower in pieces on the floor. Scalding hot water was spraying everywhere, and there was a half-inch of water on the floor. She was already aiming another blast at the faucet handle when she turned to look at me. “Um, good morning?”
I ran for the handle and shut the shower off, trying not to get to scalded in the process. I needed a moment. Ok, one, Luna is soaking wet, making her 20% hotter. Two, I need a new shower head, something to mop up all the water with, and towels for both me and her. Three, I’m standing in scalding water, thinking, not reacting, so four, I’ll need something for burns. Five, Luna is soaking wet, making her 20% hotter. I’m not getting over that soon.
The hot water burns finally registered in my head, so I quickly ran back out onto the cool linoleum in the hall before turning to Luna, still wet, and looking incredibly embarrassed. I could barely get out the question, “What… the HELL!!!!… happened?”
She kind of pawed at the floor, looking sheepishly attractive. All of a sudden, the great Princess of the Night sounded like Fluttershy. “Well, I was going to take a bath, but you only have that evil spitting water snake. I didn’t know how to use it, and I didn’t want to wake you, so I tried to figure it out myself. I turned the knob to the left, like your supposed to, and the water was too hot. That’s when I yelled and retaliated and you came in.”
I tried to quickly gather myself. “So, I’m going to skip past the part where I wonder how you even fit in that shower, much less moved around so quickly in that little bathroom. I’m more surprised you don’t know how to use a shower. It’s not that different from a bath, just the water and dirt goes down the drain and doesn’t sit there. Turning the knob all the way was why it was so hot, you only turn it until it gets to the right temperature, and evil spitting water snake?? Really?” I finished off with a laugh.
She didn’t see so much humor in it I guess. I kept talking. “All right. We’re both wet, so I’m going to get dry towels for us. Stay here and please don’t blow up my fridge.”
As I turned around she asked, “What is a fridge?”


...


So, with all the excitement that morning, I knew I wasn’t going to make it to theater class, which was fine with me. What wasn’t fine was the realization that I could keep Luna locked in my room forever, partially because she would get bored, partially because I didn’t have a ton of extra room, but mostly because she was going to bring the building down on our heads. I didn’t really want to bring up the topic but I had to ask her about Canterlot and how she was going to get back, if she knew how. I went out and got some makings for salad for her and milk for cereal for me, and we sat down to eat. After a few minutes I put my spoon down and cleared my throat. “Uuh, Luna?” She looked up from her salad and waited for me to keep talking. “So, not that having you here isn’t the best thing that ever happened to me, but do you have any idea how you’re going to get back?”
Her face grew dark again and she pushed aside her food. “I’ve thought some about that, and I don’t quite know. Magic doesn’t run through this world as strongly as it does Equestria, and I don’t even know what kind of magic was used to bring me here. I think I should be able to at least figure out what kind of magic it was that brought me here, which would tell me what kind of creature used it. The best case scenario is I can recreate the spell using leftover magic from the original portal.”
I kind of gave her a blank look and asked, “How can you do that? I get that there would be residual traces left where the tear in space-time was made, but you can’t re-weave that tear, can you? That layer would already be weakened from the previous tear, especially after having been so recent, and by making it again, if you really were able to, would run the risk of breaking those already weak fibers beyond repair. Right?”
She looked at me as if I had just grown an extra head. “Well, yes, I can, but how in Tartarus can someone without the capabilities of magic understand the workings of high level magic so well? You just gave a concise explanation of the exact details that I have to precaution against.”
I just shrugged my shoulders. “Mostly imagination and thought. Anytime space-time is referred to, it’s a fabric, so there would be fibers, and since it’s strong enough to keep various universes in their place, then it has to be strong. Even so, the fibers have to be self-healing since they can only take so much change and pressure at any given time or form. Tell me if I’m wrong, because I’m making this all up as I go along.”
Her jaw dropped. “That’s all exactly right. Your just saying all that as it comes to your head?”
“Pretty much, yeah.”
“That’s incredible. It takes our scientists years of study to figure that out. You’d surely be a unicorn if you came to Equestria.”
It was my turn to be confused again. “Except I thought that if a human were to go to Equestria, we’d just stay human. And if somehow we were magically transformed to a pony, we would just be earth ponies because it was too complex to change into a pegasus or unicorn, or because we wouldn’t be able to fully develop those skills because we hadn’t been practicing since child hood. Kind of like you stayed a pony when you came here.”
Luna shook her head. “I probably stayed a pony because I’m an alicorn, and the simple immensity of my magical power kept me in my form. I could magically transform into a human if I knew how, but I would still have magical abilities and wings, which would be strange. Typically when one travels universes they are changed into a fitting resident of that universe, while keeping their natural talents and being granted new ones unique to their new form based on their abilities, special talents, or skills.”
“Oh. Sweet! Well, we should probably get to work. You need to help defend Canterlot.”
“Well, yeah, but…” She looked down at her bowl and put a cute little pout on.
“Well what? I’d think you wanted to go home. To where you belong. You know your place, you have power, and friends.”
She looked up, straight into my eyes, and I couldn’t help but shudder. It was like staring into a purely perfect night sky, and I could almost see constellations in her eyes. “If our places had been reversed, and you had fallen into my chambers, and I had given you a home, food, and kindness, even after destroying my things, would you want to leave?”
I was speechless. What do you say to that? My honest answer was no, I’d want to stay in her bedroom forever, but if someone was threatening my home, I’d want to take care of it too. She was right, though. What if she couldn’t come back? What if after she walked through the portal, she was gone forever? I just knew I’d spend a year crying myself to sleep in a living-breathing-Luna-less room. Should I tell her one truth, and risk her staying and having Canterlot attacked without one of the princesses being there, or tell her the other and ruin the chance of her wanting to come back even if she could, or try to explain both sides to her and just risk the chance of her being unable to come back? I’m beginning to ramble in my own thoughts though, and she knows it. She gave me a kind of knowing look.
“Kind of the ogre’s choice, isn’t it? ‘Damned if you do, damned if you don’t‘, I believe is the modern saying. Plus, I watched more of the show during the night. Things aren’t quite so good in Canterlot as they are portrayed. More ponies than not are still distrustful and even hateful towards me for hosting the Nightmare. I understand it, but it grates on ones nerve after a while.”
“Yeah, I guess I can understand that. Well, do you think there’s a way to be able to go back and forth between the two worlds? I mean, I’d really like it if we could still visit one another if you do go back.”
“I would like that too, but life would keep moving for you. You wouldn’t live here forever and the portal would continue to be here. If anything, I’d have to figure out a way to give you the capability to make the portal wherever you are, and that would take an incredible amount of time and work. And I don’t know where to start,” she added sadly.
“Yeah, I get that too. Well, either way, you do need to decide if you’re going to go back.”
“We both know I have to. So, we need to get to work.”
I’m not going to bore you with the nitty-gritty details of pulling space-time apart right along a previously opened tear, but it takes a lot of time and aspirin. After we got it opened though, things began happening fast. It wasn’t stable, to say the least, and before I knew it we were both sucked into the main room of the Canterlot Royal Hall, right in front of Celestia, seated on her throne. I can’t recall what she looked like or if she was upset or not before I passed out. Probably.

> Please, Celestia, don"t shoot me!... Again
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	While I was passed out, I don’t remember much. Unconsciousness does that, I hear. Fading in and out, I just remember my entire body being in the most incredible pain I’ve ever felt. And not the good incredible, more the bad, excruciating kind of incredible. Luna was standing over me, looking downright terrified, and I think Celestia was in the back of the room. Luna could probably tell you more about that day, to tell you the truth, but i guess it wasn't very interesting. When I actually woke up, though, I know that I was still in pain, I was still a human, I was surrounded by doctors, Luna and Celestia apparently had duties to perform, and I really needed to pee.
I wasn’t allowed to get up, though. The doctors, for all the good they were doing for my still human anatomy, didn’t want to risk me aggravating my condition. I maintain they didn’t want me screwing something up that they didn’t have a goddamn clue about. Like thumbs. I was given a bedpan that obviously wasn’t made for a human laying down, but on the plus side I got fresh new sheets and some sort of satisfaction. Luckily, Luna came back after they were done changing everything.
“How do you feel? Are they treating you ok? Do you have everything you need? Oh, gods, I should have made you leave the room when I finished the spell, you shouldn’t have had to go through this, you must be in so much pain, isthereanythingIcandotohelp-”
“Luna!” I had to stop her just so she would take a breath. “You know, you worry too much. And talk too fast.”
“But still,” she said, “does it hurt bad?”
“Oh, you bet!” I gave her a kind of half smile to make her feel better, and because it was funny. 
She wasn’t amused. She gave me a nudge with her hoof and just said “Well, I feel just awful about this. You shouldn’t have been brought through that portal.”
“Hey, it wasn’t your fault. Just remember that, ok? We knew there was the risk of the unbroken yet somewhat weakened fibers around the previously torn ones giving way and sucking in the nearby objects before resealing itself. My biggest concern is that I’m not a pony. I distinctly recall you saying I would have turned into one if I came to Equestria, and Canterlot is part of Equestria last I knew. What happened?”
She gave me the same look that she had given me when we were talking about opening the portal for the first time, like I knew too much without having any idea how smart I was. “Yeah, I don’t get that either. The only option we have for turning you into a pony now is doing it magically, and we can’t even think about attempting that until we know exactly what happened to prevent and reverse your transformation.”
“Wait, wait, back up the happy-magics-mobile. You said reverse. You mean I got halfway there, or what? Because I’d really rather not be a centaur, and I’m a complete human right now. Just ask the doctors.”
“Yes, you started to turn into a pony. It started from the feet up, but when the transformation reached where your pony lower ribcage is, it just stopped. It was like it was unsure if you were turning into the right creature or even the right kind pony. Then there was a big flash of light and you were back to normal. I don’t know how or why, though.”
Suffice to say, I was confused. If nothing else, I would have liked to have been an earth pony. Instead, I’m in intense pain, not allowed to get up, and still human for all of it. I only had one more question as long as I was just laying here. “What color was I?”
That got her. She had to crack a smile, even though she tried to hide it. “You were a pretty shade of forest green, and your tail was a sparkling gold. It was the most unique color combination I had ever seen on somepony, but it really seemed to fit you, like they were made for you. And of course, you had no cutie mark because you haven’t earned it here yet, but that will come in time, I’m sure. So, Celestia will be in soon, and I’m sure she will have someone with her to observe or be on guard. I told her she doesn’t need to worry and that you’re a good man, but you know how it is.”
As if on cue, Celestia walked into the room. She carried an immense grace with her, along with two royal unicorn guards and someone who was hidden behind her. All I could see was a purple set of legs following along behind her. Without thinking, I called out, “Twilight, you don’t have to fear me. I’m not allowed to stand and I don’t want to hurt anyone anyways.” Not my best idea ever.
Celestia immediately took a more defensive stance, and the purple legs whimpered. The guards horns began to glow and their eyes narrowed, but Luna stepped in front of them. “TIA!!” she yelled, using her official Canterlot voice again. “I TOLD YOU, THIS IS A GOOD MAN. YOU WILL NOT HURT HIM FOR KNOWING ABOUT US AND OUR FRIENDS!!”
Celestia was stunned, to say the least. Her jaw dropped and she looked as if she might fall over. I guess Luna wasn’t usually so vocal about guests. Or other ponies in general. Either way, her outburst only raised the tension. Unfortunately, my awkward gene decided to kick in then, and before I could stop myself, I blurted out, “Wow. That was hot.”
Luna turned her head towards me just enough for me to see her blush, and Celestia actually shot a small magic missile at me. Luckily, I flinched just enough that it was only a graze in the shoulder, but still. By the looks of the charred remains of the bedpost behind me, it was stronger than it looked. I didn’t know that Princess Celestia could get pissed off so easily. Everypony else in the room just stood there. Except Twilight, who fainted. I was a little bit pissed now though, so I decided that it was a good time to keep mouthing off.
“Uuh, can someone check on the young lady in the back? I would, but big, bad Tia might shoot me again.” Celestia snarled and looked like she was going to try it again, but Luna raised a shield before she could. Satisfied with having grazed me for the time, Celestia tended to her student, and Luna turned back to me as I started to get out of the bed. It was obvious she was trying not to laugh, but she hid it well.
“Not that that wasn’t hilarious, but please don’t push her too far. She didn’t like you from the moment you fell on her floor. And while that gash doesn’t look too bad, it’s going to leave a scar and you don’t want to have her shoot at you again.”
“Oh, I don’t know. I haven’t been shot at before. It’s kind of exhilarating.” This time, Luna glared at me a little bit. Jeeze, I was on a roll. “Sorry,” I muttered.
By now, Twilight was awake again and had come to terms with her mentor shooting someone in a protectively jealous rage. Now the Twilight I knew was working again though, and the scholar in her was beginning to bubble over with excitement at the fact that she was documenting the first-ish encounter with a human, who not only talked, but was gutsy enough to mouth off to the Princess (well, maybe the last part is just my imagination).
“Oh, my goodness, what an incredible creature! It stands on two feet, it can talk, and in our language! I wonder what it eats?” She wrote furiously in her notebook, seeming to record every shaky step I took. “Is it unsure of how it is supposed to walk, despite its seeming maturity?”
“Twilight, you can direct your questions at me, and I’m a he, not an it. I know how to walk, run, etcetera, and I do it just fine. Finding myself in Equestria and being shot at by a princess is just a new experience for me. By the look of her though, Celestia may want to make it a fairly common experience,” I said, nodding at Celestia, whose horn began to glow brightly again. “Though I’d take it as a kindness if she didn’t,” I added quickly, backing up a bit.
“Luna. Hallway. Now.” Celestia looked like she might kill me by the end of the hour.
I threw a quick sheepish look at Luna and stopped her for a second before she went out, making the guards a little nervous. “Hey, don’t cover for me. Tell her the truth, tell her I’m kind of an ass sometimes, and that I don’t do well with the whole ‘showing utmost respect to authority at every given moment’ thing. Although I really do respect her. You do know that, right?” I asked in hushed tones.
She smiled back and just said, “Yes, I know generally how you work. You’re a good guy, you like to have fun, and you prefer to diffuse an awkward situation by making inappropriate comments, then not apologizing and or backing down. Don’t worry, you’ve covered yourself. I don’t have to lie.”
Somehow, that didn’t make me feel better, but she walked through the door confidently. Although I did feel like she really kind of liked me, the way she pointed out nice things about me.
While they were outside, their voices could be heard in an angry, hushed shouting match. While that was all well and good for them, it was kind of weird just standing in the room. After a moment, I motioned for Twilight to come sit with me on the bed. “Hey, I’ll answer your questions if you like. I know your filled to the brim with them. Come on, hit me with your best shot.”
She seemed a little nervous at first, but that could have been the guards pointing their horns at me, ready to shoot if I moved wrong. But as she grew calmer and more sure I wasn’t going to attack, the guards stood down and listened to what I had to say.  Looking back, I’m surprised I wasn’t more amped up, but I think I was out of excitement juice from being shot at and having already slept in the same room as Princess Luna. We sat there for a half hour or so, ignoring the increasingly loud voices coming from the hallway and just having a grand old time, until finally the voices lowered and the Princesses came back in. I guess Luna won whatever argument they had, because Celestia didn’t look very happy, and Luna practically bounced over and sat on my other side and began to talk.
“So, Tia has graciously allowed me to give you the adjoining bedroom to mine in my tower. You will have full range of the castle as long as either one of us or two or more guards are with you at all times. That includes the kitchen and the library. While you are here, sister thinks she knows how to make a spell that will allow you to do what we talked about, meaning essentially carry the portal with you and have the ability to set it up to travel freely from your world to ours and back so that we can visit each other. In the meantime, you’ll be watched like I said, but you’ll have the opportunity to see most anything you like as long as someone is with you, and I’d love to show you around.”
I was deliriously happy, to say the least, but something kept nagging at me in the part of my brain that was still rational. “So, what about all my things back home? I mean, I have classes to go to and papers to write. And if I just don’t show up for a few days, people will come looking, and my family will get scared.”
Luna nodded slowly, still smiling. “We thought of that too. For this first spell, we may be able to take you right back to the time that we left, give or take about an hour. Hopefully give, if anything, because if it’s take then past you and me will see future you, which would be current you to you then but future you to them. I think?” She looked at the ceiling and tapped her hoof on her chin. After a second, she shook her head and snapped out of it. “Anyways, you haven’t eaten since out breakfast yesterday, so how about some lunch?”
As she mentioned it, I realized that I was pretty hungry. I didn’t realize that it had been a whole day and a half, but I was pretty darn hungry. But I think it might be too much to hope that they had sesame chicken in the kitchen.

> The Sh*T Hits the Fan
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	All right, so after about a week, I was still just kind of hanging out in the castle. Granted, I would have killed for beef, but touring by day, tagging along with Luna by night, I couldn’t have been happier. She even let me help design constellations in the night sky some nights. I thought it was hilarious when she actually put a cow up next to the Warrior Pegasus of Equestrian legend. After all that time, though, Celestia hadn’t figured out all the details of the spell. I think we had all forgotten the threat against Equestria for the time being. That didn’t last long though.
By this time, I had met Shining Armor, though not the other Elements of Harmony. Celestia still didn’t like me much, but she was warming up to me. It was still a little weird seeing the usually kind princess so malicious toward someone, but I guess no one is perfect. Things went well until day seven, when the threat was realized. Shining Armor burst through the doors of the dining hall at lunch, out of breath and looking nervous, which is about as scared as I had ever seen him.
“Your Highnesses!! Something is terribly wrong! We have no idea what it could be, but it is very powerful. We need your help!”
The three of us all stood, but Celestia immediately tried to shoot me down, not quite as literally this time. “Oh, no. You aren’t going anywhere. I still can’t entirely trust you, and you don’t seem to have any physical assets that would be of use in this situation.”
I kind of agreed with her, but from what I’d seen of Equestrian villains, any minions that were there seemed to be fist-fightable, seeing as Applejack was able to just buck away the changeling minions. Magic and wings just made it easier. Too bad I had never fought before. Even so, I was going to go, despite Celestia’s legitimate concerns. “Yeah, I don’t think that’s going to work. I’m coming with. I didn’t have anything to do with this, and I want to help. Not to mention my not being a pony may throw off whatever it is that’s attacking, and I seem to be more imaginative that you, no offense. I can take care of myself. Now let’s go before something goes really wrong.”
I obviously didn’t score any popularity points with her, but she didn’t argue too hard. She may have been secretly hoping I got smashed, eaten , or outright killed by whatever it was We all ran outside to find a huge cloud of purple colored smoke. It reminded me of something, but I couldn’t recall what. As we watched, it began to take on a form. It “grew” four legs first, and slowly became a great purple alicorn. She let out a wicked laugh, and suddenly I remembered what that cloud was. Luna recognized it too.
“Oh, horse apples,” we said in unison.
“Aah, so you do remember me, my dear. And it seems your friend knows of me as well. Excellent.” Nightmare Moon spoke in a sickeningly evil yet alluring voice. “I take it you haven’t learned the truth about him though, have you?”
Celestia shot me a glare that said “I knew it,” while Luna’s look said “What is she talking about?” I just raised my hands in denial and self-defense.
I turned back to the magical villainess towering before me. “Look, Nightmare Moon, I have no idea what the hell you’re talking about. I wasn’t even a part of this until you dropped Luna into my bedroom a week ago! I’m no one special, I have no special powers or abilities, I’m just some kid!”
She threw back her head and laughed a laugh that would make a Cerberus whimper. “Oh, that is priceless! The last true remaining threat to me and he doesn’t even know it! I needn’t have bothered with luring you here in the first place!!” She just continued to laugh as Shining Armor, the princesses, and I all looked at each other in dumbfounded confusion. I spoke back up first.
“What do you mean, a threat to you. I’m not even a freaking pony! I have no magic or wings!”
Nightmare Moon continued to laugh for another moment before answering. “As if I’d actually tell you how to beat me! No, I think I’ll let you keep that question on your mind as you die a failure!” She suddenly stopped laughing and aimed her horn at us and prepared to fire a shot. The three magic users on our side, however, teleported us away before she could fire or I could scream. Then with a bright flash we were in the dungeons of the castle, away from Nightmare Moon.
“So, I’m going to assume everyone is confused as to how I’m any kind of hero, but I’d personally like to find out. And to be honest, I think that my not having turned directly into a pony is some kind of clue about it. Is there some way we can just transform me and figure it out?”
Celestia looked at me like I was still a suspect, but a little less angrily than usual. “Well, the spell is ready, but are you sure? If something goes wrong again, you’ll be subjected to the same pain that you felt in the bed a week ago.” I just nodded. The thought of that pain wasn’t exactly what I hoped for, but I at least knew what was coming this time. “All right. Stay still. Even if it works, it will hurt somewhat.” Her horn began to glow brightly, and what looked like golden, magical fabric began to quickly weave itself out of her magic. It wrapped around me loosely, and it made me think of Rarity getting her big butterfly wings. I just hoped my body wasn’t made of morning dew and gossamer, like her wings. I could feel my legs beginning to change anatomically, and Celestia was right: it hurt. But she was also right in that something felt like it was going wrong. The legs didn’t feel like they were both the same, and at my ribcage the pain stopped, like the change wasn’t going any farther. All of a sudden, the magical fabric began to waver and unravel, like it wasn’t getting enough power. But if Celestia couldn’t power it, what could? And what inside me was powerful enough to stop the Day Princess’s magic?
Everything changed back to human form all at once. Really, that’s what caused the most pain. At least when it was changing the other way, it was gradual and I could brace myself for the next few seconds. This was just the feeling that every bone below my ribs was broken at the same time, then instantly re-knit itself. It was better than last time at least, probably because I did know what was next. As I lay on the floor recovering, though, Celestia looked really worried.
“I just don’t know what went wrong,” she said. Just then, a little grey pegasus with a bubbles cutie mark crashed through the doors of the dungeon, a lightning cloud tumbling after her throwing lightning bolts in every direction.
“Oopsie!” she said as she and her cloud rolled to a halt. “ Sorry! I just don’t know what went wrong!”
As she quickly flew back out of the castle, Celestia’s jaw dropped. Come to think of it, so did Shining Armor’s and Luna’s. I was hysterical. But we gathered ourselves and refocused on Celestia’s magical mess-up. “Well,” she said, “I just don’t-” She stopped suddenly. Looking at the door, she rephrased. “I don’t know why that didn’t work the way it was supposed to. If you were to be a unicorn like Luna believes, your magic shouldn’t be strong enough to block mine. And there isn’t a more powerful source of magic in Equestria other than the elements of Harmony. Who we need to help fight Nightmare Moon anyways.”
It was Luna’s turn to talk. “We’ll go to Ponyville and bring the others back. In his bipedal form, he can ride me like humans do on his world. Shining Armor, I know what you are going to say,” she cut him off before he could start to protest, “and I know what I’m doing. You and Tia are going to be needed here to protect the castle and the city. I am less experienced in combat after having been in the moon for a thousand years. I will be more useful on this particular mission. We are going. It will also remove him from danger for a time.”
Celestia and Shining Armor couldn’t really argue with that. We were the best choices for going out, so the four of us split into our respective pairs and went about our missions. Luna and I snuck out the back way while Celestia and Shining Armor distracted Nightmare Moon. After mounting Luna, which was the highlight of my freaking life, we began to fly away, trying to stay low. As we flew, we could almost feel Nightmare Moons influence fading and being replaced by another: the feeling that we were being followed. As I looked over my shoulders I saw we were right. Dark shadows, like little bits of Nightmare Moon that had detached and flown off, were following us at a distance. We were losing them, but they were there and we knew we would have to confront them by the time we got to Ponyville. Despite neither of us being fighters in the strictest sense, we were going to have to learn, and fast.


...


Once we arrived, it was easy enough to gather the Elements. We saw Twilight first, and she ran to get Pinkie, Flutershy, and RainbowDash while Luna and I went for AppleJack and Rarity. AppleJack, being down to earth and sensible, took my presence rather well, after I assured I ate apples and would love to try her farms particular brand when it was a more prudent time. After that she quickly grabbed her necklace and came with us. Rarity, on the other hand, was a bit more excited thinking about all he custom made clothes she would be able to design specifically for a biped. Every few seconds, she would shout out “Ideaaaa!!” in a sing-songy voice and would run for her paper and pencils. We only got her out of the Boutique by promising I would spend a full three days doing nothing but modeling and spending time in her Boutique after Nightmare Moon was defeated. But by the time we all gathered together again at the library, the Nightmare Spawns had caught up to us. We had to stand here, at least for a time.
“Oh, dear,” Luna muttered. “What do we do now?”
“Well, if I were to try and diffuse this tense situation, I would say something silly and childish, like, ‘we play the song ‘Tubthumping’ by Chumbawamba, and hope that they all break into dance’. However, in the spirit of maturity, I’d like to suggest that we play the song ‘Eye of the Tiger’ and hope they all break into dance,” I joked. Judging by the blank stared I got from the others and you, the readers, it didn’t land. “Never mind,” I said. “you don’t know those songs anyways. Or at least ‘Tubthumping’.”
“We just have to fight them,” Twilight said. “It’s kind of how it goes. But this time, the Elements aren’t going to work as well. There’s less of a corporeal form to attack. It‘s difficult to aim at living magic.”
“Wait, it would be easier to aim at them if they were attached to someone?” I asked.
“Yeah, that’s the gist of it,” everyone kind of replied at once. 
“Ok, I have a really, stupid idea, and I can’t really tell you what it is because you might try to stop me. All you need to know is that on my signal, or at a good time, you need to use the Elements of Harmony on us.”
“Oh, silly!” Pinkie cried. “There’s no such thing as a bad idea! Everything can be a good idea if given the opportunity to show how it can shine!!”
“Yeah, Pinkie, I’d be tempted to agree with you usually, but I know what I’m about to do, so I’m counting this as the exception to that rule. Just, do what I said, ok? You’ll know when to use the Elements, and remember: do not hold back in the slightest.”
“Wait!” Luna cried. “When you were just talking, you said ‘aim at us.’ I think I know what you are going to do, and I know I can’t really stop you either.” She hung her head sadly and a tear began to roll down her cheek. “But… I wish there was another way…”
I looked at her and felt her tear tear my heart and soul in half. “Luna,” I whispered, putting my hands on her shoulders as best as I could, what with her long equine neck and all. “I’ll be fine. Ish. I’ll be fine-ish. Maybe. Don’t worry. Doing things without really thinking is my specialty, remember? Seriously, don’t worry.” I’ll admit, I had a singly, manly tear roll down my face too. There wasn’t much left to say at that point. You can’t really say much about that. But I couldn’t just turn away from her. We leaned together and kissed right there as Nightmare Spawn closed in on us. It was strange, kissing an animal, albeit a talking one, albeit Princess Luna. But it was right. I knew that much. We were supposed to be together like this.
But it couldn’t last forever, as much as we wanted it to. The soft humming of the Nightmare Spawn was getting closer, and that meant I had to go. I turned and ran directly towards the glowing shapes. The Elements were still a little stunned and a little confused, by both the kiss and the realization of what I was going to do, but they pulled themselves together beautifully. As the Spawns attached to me and tried to get inside me and take me over, all I could do was yell in pain. Luckily, the girls took that as their signal, and the next thing I knew I was on the receiving end of a freaking friendly nuke.



AUTHORS NOTE: So when I said no human on pony action, I meant sexually. Don’t worry though, this is the extent of it.

> Confrontation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Ok, so remember I said that in the hospital after only half turning into a pony and then changing back that was the most intense pain ever? Yeah, I was lying. Having a swirling rainbow made of pure friendship and magic dropped on you from the goddamn sky and magically incinerating magical death-spawns that are trying to attach to your very soul from the inside of your body is. All that I can clearly remember is bright light, colors and searing pain. I can’t even tell you how much time passed. Luna tells me it was only about a minute, but it felt like at least a half hour. I realized that Discord had gone through this twice before, and Luna had taken this heat too. The rainbow died off in a small explosion, and the light mercifully faded away. Unfortunately, I wasn’t out of the woods yet. The others were, but I wasn’t.
That feeling of having each bone selectively broken and changed came back. Something was happening with my legs, but this time they weren’t just changing. They were growing. The bones and joints were turning into those of a pony, but a larger pony than Twilight or Fluttershy or even AJ, who was a little bigger than the others. Since I wasn’t wrapped up in magical fiber or unconscious this time, I could see the changes happening. The area glowed with a pure, bright, white light while changing. Luna was right, I was a forest-y green color, and once my tail showed up it was a shiny gold. Gold, ok, yeah, it’s a good color. But it was shiny! It sparkled like it wasn’t a normal tail. 
As the change got to the bottom of my ribcage, it wavered a bit, like when Celestia tried to change me. But only for a second, then it shone all the fiercer and continued, and that’s where things got really weird. It felt like my first couple ribs didn’t just move and grow, but split I half first. Then I realized that they had. The top halves of the bones grew straight outward, and rather than developing fur on the new skin, they grew feathers. At that moment, I just figured Luna had been wrong, and that I was supposed to be a pegasus. But when the change reached my head, the frontal bone of my skull grew the horn of a unicorn. Holy crap, I was an alicorn!!
I stood up and found myself just as tall as I had been before, but far more powerful. There was a new power in my muscles that had never been there before. I flared my wings once and a strong gust blew away the leaves and dead grass left on the ground. Everyone just stared for a moment, excluding Rarity, who passed out. Even Pinkie Pie was speechless, for once. I took a few shaky steps, but didn’t go far. I felt like I was going to be sick. I fell backwards into a sitting position with a heavy thud. Luna began to approach, very slowly at first, but quickly sped up to help hold me up.
“Oh, gods, how can this be? Only royalty has ever been blessed with the power of an alicorn. And yours wasn’t any kind of political family on earth, and even if it was, this wouldn’t have happened, most likely. What… what’s going on?” I could tell even through the haze that she was scared. Way more scared than me, to be honest. This could explain a lot, like why I didn’t change when I first came to Equestria, and why Celestia hadn’t been able to easily change me. The Elements of Harmony were just powerful enough to fuel my change. And, if I were really reaching, it could explain why Nightmare Moon seemed to think I could be some kind of hero. As I tried to think, I became aware that Luna was still talking. “You had the intelligence to be a unicorn, but to be honest I didn’t think you did to be an alicorn. And you didn’t have any flight experience or training. You didn’t have any pilots in your family, did you?
“Well, see, my dad was a pilot when he was young. Flew for his dads mine. Used to patch his plane with duct tape. But my wings aren’t made of or covered in duct tape, so I don’t think I took after him so much.” I tried to stand up again, but I was a little shaky. Luna stood and helped me stay upright, but I was going to need to be able to walk and stand up if I was going to be any help at all.
“Well, shoot,” AppleJack finally piped up. “How about that. Ya’ll sure are something, being one of them all-powerful Albert-corn ponies disguised as a bipedal weirdo.”
“AppleJack!” a now fully conscious Rarity cried. “Show some respect for him! He’s not a bipedal freak-”
“Fracas!!” Pinkie corrected. “Oh, wait,” she thought for a second. “Um, I’m sorry, can I get the line, please?” While she tried to figure out the right word, the rest of us kept talking.
“Well, he’s not a bi-pe… A bow-pedal… a two legged anything anymore!” RainbowDash threw in. “He’s a princess! Wait, well, he’s a guy princess thing, but still! This is awesome!! Now we can totally kick Nightmare Moon’s tail all the way back to the moon!! Whoo!” she finished with an air-hoof.
“But... Umm… isn’t he a brand new alicorn? Because that’s kind of like a baby alicorn… um, no offense,” Fluttershy whispered.
I laughed as best I could. “It’s ok, Fluttershy. In a sense I am a baby alicorn, but Rainbow is right too. I can’t afford to sit here and let you guys run into this alone. Besides, Nightmare Moon seemed to think that I was going to help defeat her. I need to go with you guys.” I took a few steps, and it was coming a little easier. I guess that the body comes with a little bit of a built in owner’s manual. I tried using my magic a little bit and accidentally threw RainbowDash about a mile straight up, a trail of silvery magic flying after her. “Well, I think that I’ll have to figure out another way to fight using my magic, since I don’t know how to use it delicately.”
“Ooh! I know!” Twilight suddenly became very excited. “There is a kind of magic where you can basically make your own constructs out of pure magic. Not summon normal objects, but create your own. Like making magical constructs. They’re somewhat difficult to initially create, but easy to maintain and incredibly easy to control. They respond to simple thought and instinct.”
“Yeah, and I’ll give you the basics of flying while we’re at it!” RD was getting more pumped up by the minute.

[center[b...]]


Really, just sitting here and listening to the basics of magical constructs and flying is boring, so I’ll save you that. Suffice it to say, I was a fast learner and RD was able to teach me a few maneuvers while we were at it, and I got a handle on making whatever I wanted with pure magic pretty easily. During the train ride back to Canterlot, Luna and I sat in the back, apart from the others. We talked quietly, so the others wouldn’t hear and get nervous.
“So, do you know why I was chosen to be a ‘hero‘?” I was still a little unclear on that point, and still didn’t know if I could do much.
“Well, I don’t know," she sighed, her head drooping slightly. “I mean, you don’t bear an Element of Harmony, you didn’t have magic or wings until they were given to you by the Elements, and you hadn’t even ever been to Equestria. If Nightmare Moon hadn’t brought you here, she could have just attacked and never worried about you. Nothing seems to make sense anymore.”
It was just then that the sun disappeared. It hadn’t been setting; it wasn’t even too late in the day. It just went in a matter of seconds. “No…” Luna gasped. “That means Celestia has fallen… We’re the only hope that’s left.” She couldn’t bring herself to say anymore.
I awkwardly put a hoof around her shoulder. “Hey, everything is going to be fine. We have the Elements, remember? We’ll be able to beat her, and Celestia will be fine. Nightmare Moon probably banished her to the sun in a sick version of revenge, but really that’s where she’s going to be safest. Once we win, Celestia will be freed and everything will return to normal.” She looked at me with a look that said ‘you’re just trying to cheer me up and I know it, but thanks anyways.’ “Here,” I added. “Why don’t you put the moon and stars up? That way it shows that one sister is still fighting.”
She nodded, and her horn began to glow. She traced the path the moon would take that night, and then sent it on its way. We put the stars up together, and this time I actually put a few up myself, with her teaching me how to place them. It calmed her nerves, and by the time we were done the train was arriving in the city.
But it wasn’t the same city we had left. The battle had left its mark on the buildings and streets. There wasn’t anypony on the streets like there usually were, even at night. There were scorched marks on the ground where shots had missed their marks and buildings that were only half standing. Street lights were bent or broken and laying on the ground and the air was deathly silent. Each step we took echoed eerily through the dead alleyways and roads we passed. From where we were, the castle looked to be in decent shape, but it was dark and far away.
As we approached the gates, Nightmare Moons haunting laughter began to creep from the shadows. It was everywhere at once, but she herself was nowhere to be seen. RainbowDash plucked up some of her famous bravery and called out, “Come on out! What are ya, chicken? Can’t even show your face to us?”
This prompted the laughter to grow even louder, and Nightmare Moons voice drifted to us. “Oh, you silly little foals. You think that since you accidentally turned your idiot human friend into his alicorn form, you have a chance against me?” Something was strange about the sound of her voice. It didn’t seem quite as confident this time around. And almost seemed to be concentrating into a certain area as she talked, but there was a fog gathering that was blocking our sight.
“He’s still clueless as to the true power he could unleash if only he dared to search his abilities.” Yeah, it was definitely getting louder in a certain area, but I couldn’t pinpoint where. “In fact, none of you really know just what the Elements of Harmony are capable of; you just use them to zap the occasional perceived threat away so that you don’t have to deal with any kind of change.” It almost feels as if it’s coming from… Behind us!!
Without looking, I made a giant hammer out of concentrated magic and swung blindly behind our group. Luck was on my side, and I made full contact with her midsection just as she materialized behind us. With her concentration broken, the fog around us lifted and we saw her fly ten feet off to the side. “Damn,” I muttered. “I didn’t think that was going to work.”
It’s safe to say Nightmare Moon didn’t expect it either. When she stood back up, she was muttering all manner of curses that I didn’t even think existed in Equestria. Her horn glowed brightly with pure malice there was barely enough time to throw up a shield before a powerful bolt shot from her horn. It was a good thing Luna put up a barrier as well, because mine barely held up under the terrific force of the bolt. Nightmare Moon let out a bellow and totally tore loose. Any kind of medieval weapon or pain inducer you could think of was thrown towards us. While Luna kept up her protective shield, I threw my own barrage back at Nightmare Moon’s constructs. Anything I couldn’t hit or knock out of the air, Luna was able to deflect with her shield. After just thirty seconds of unbridled fury, Nightmare Moon’s attacks just stopped. She stood up straight and looked at us curiously, like we had surprised her by even holding up that long. She didn’t really move, just looked us over with that impressed look. 
We actually stood there long enough that Luna and I took down our defenses. I was feeling cocky and flippant again, so I made the first move. “Was that it? Can we raise the sun and all go home now?”
Nightmare Moon gave a small chuckle and called back, “Well, I wonder if we can talk for a little bit instead of this foolish fighting. We’re both reasonable ponies, now, aren’t we? I mean, what harm can that do?”
“I may be foolish, but I’m not dumb!” I yelled. “If I walk over there, I’m walking into a trap and I know it! Say what you have to say from there!”
“Huh, you may not be as dull as I once thought,” she mused. “Well, if you’re so smart, then surely you must be able to see the beauty of an eternal night!”
“Well, I will give you that,” I said. Luna looked at me like I had lost my mind. “What?” I asked. “I’m serious. Eternal night would be really pretty! I mean, the stars would be up all the time, and the moon’s phases would be a gradual change, not the all of a sudden, ‘hey the moon changed’ feeling we get as things are now.”
“HA! Yes! So you are willing to come fight with me!” Nightmare Moon cheered.
“Ah, ah, ah! I said it would be pretty, and that comes with certain stipulations. I  think it would be a beautiful sight if it was made by the someone I love, who made this beautiful night,” I added, enjoying Nightmare Moon’s sigh of disgust, the ‘aww’s from the six standing behind us, and Luna blushing and smiling in the corner of my eye. “Sorry, that was probably too soon,” I muttered to her, “But I‘m gonna die, so, you know.” I heard her hold back a sob or something at that. I turned my attention back to Nightmare Moon “Also, though it may be beautiful, it wouldn’t be healthy. Plants, animals, and ponies all need sunlight to live. If we didn’t have that, then there would be no one left to enjoy the beauty of your night. So while I agree it would be beautiful, I can’t allow it.” I finished with a more defensive stance. I knew she was going to attack soon after that.
I was right, but not in the way I was thinking. Rather than an all-out offensive against the group, Nightmare Moon summoned a protective shield around she and I. the others all cried out and tried to get in, but Nightmare Moon kept adding layer after layer to it until it was about 20 layers of shielding all compacted and folded into an inch and a half thick barrier. It was just the two of us now, and one of us wouldn’t be coming out.

> Some Time to Reflect
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	So, I was in trouble, frankly. If Nightmare Moon pulled another stunt like she did earlier, I wasn’t going to be able to fend off every blade she threw at me. But then, I didn’t think she was going to do that. If she could have kept that up for very long, I think she would have done that before and just finished us all off. This was going to be a much longer battle.
And unfortunately, she wasn’t going to waste any time starting. The first thing she did was create a long, double edged sword. She took a practice swing, just driving me back a little bit. I figured that I the best way to fight a sword was with a sword, so I made one of my own and made a quick thrust at her to try and push her back. She had the benefit of knowing what she was doing, though, and she knocked my sword to the side with a quick flick of her own sword. Ok, I don’t know how to use a sword. I seemed to be doing better with the hammer.
So I brought the hammer back. Nightmare Moon didn’t expect that, I guess, because she lowered her sword for a second. I took the chance and swung wide at her, but she regained composure just in time to block most of the blow, but I caught her with a decent hit to the side, and I thought I heard her wing crack, which was odd, her being made of magic too.
I must have done some kind of damage, though, because she cried in pain and swung her blade in a great arc, covering the whole battlefield, forcing me to leap into the air and hover ten feet off the ground. Not the best battle position for someone still unused to flying. She took advantage of that and began to shoot bolts of magic from her glowing horn, each violently ricocheting off the edge of the purple barrier and coming back at me. She shot maybe five bolts, but in reality I had to dodge ten. I wasn’t doing well.
I needed to end this soon or I’d make a mistake and she would win. I gathered as much magic as I could in five seconds in my horn and let it all out in a concussive blast, bursting from me in a silver wave. The burning light cut through the night with incredible force, and Nightmare Moon seemed to be blown away. As the magic began to diffuse, though, a deep purple aura could be seen growing on the far side of the field. Suddenly, a blast came flying at me faster than lightning. Before I knew what had happened, the bolt and another following it struck me square in the chest, and in a flash of light, I fell.


...


So, yeah, she killed me. And I couldn’t even put up much of a fight. Not quite the ending I had hoped for. Probably not what you hoped for, right? Well, that’s ok, because it’s not the end yet. It can’t end at that, right? Riiiight.
Obviously, the next thing I remember is being dead, and being honest, the underworld isn’t a bad place. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for heaven and hell, but for whatever reason I wasn’t in either. And it wasn’t purgatory or anything else like that. I came to a crossroads, oddly enough. It was a clean move from Equestrian life to the crossroads. There was no overview of my life so I could show remorse or lack thereof of my misdeeds. It was just an explosion on my chest, and then the next world. I wasn’t a pony anymore either. I was my normal human self, and it really felt kind of good to be on two feet again.
It wasn’t a bright place, but it wasn’t really dark. There were fancy street lights lining the worn dirt roads, at least the road I could see. It just went straight for a little bit, and it came to a clearing. That clearing split into three roads, four if you count the one I was standing on. All along the sides of the road the ditches gave off an eerie orange glow, leading me to the clearing. After that, there was no kind of glow from the ditch, and no street lights past the trailheads of the paths. A lone figure sat on a bench in the middle of the clearing, doing something with his hands. As I got closer, I could see it was the typical figure of death: a skeleton draped in a long, flowing black robe. He didn’t look up as I got closer, just kept working.
As I approached I could see what he was working on. It was a little bone carving of a sword and a crescent moon. The way he was holding it, the moon stood behind the sword, and the edge of the moon met up with the tip of the pommel. The blade extended just a little bit past the edge of the moon, giving it the appearance that it was protecting the moon from some unknown foe. The amount of detail on it was incredible, down to grip lines on the hilt to help the wielder maintain his hold on the blade.
When I got close, Death didn’t move except to keep carving, but he spoke. “So you finally made it down to me, huh?” He spoke in a low, semi-gravelly voice, but not quite as sinister as we seem to think it would be. If anything, he sounded tired, like he had just finished a long backpacking trip. Not the old man tired, but like the wise younger man.
I sat down on the bench and made myself comfortable. “Yeah, I guess, but what do you mean ‘finally’? Was I supposed to die before now?”
“Well, I thought you would have made it here sooner, yeah. To be honest, I thought the pain of half changing and changing back would have done it for you. You never did have the highest threshold for pain, you know.” He still wasn’t looking at me, but focusing on his carving.
“Yeah, either that or taking the hit from that Elements of Harmony blast,” I admitted. “I really didn’t think I was going to survive that.”
That seemed to pique Deaths interest. He looked at me curiously. “Really? You thought that going in?” I nodded once, slowly. “And you still took the fall so that Twilight and the others could safely hit all of them at once?” I just nodded again. “Why did you do it? I mean, that’s different from a soldier or a guard taking a hit for a buddy. They know each other. You took a hit for people you had only known for five minutes, so that they could have a chance at saving a world you didn’t belong to.”
I leaned back in my seat and looked sideways at him. “Yeah, it’s a bit of a different situation, but it’s still the same concept. It was the right thing. I’d do it again now if I had to. And just to let you know, I’m not planning on sitting here long.”
He turned back to his carving, but kept his head tilted towards me, like he needed to finish but was really listening to everything I said. “Really? And why is that? It’s not like it’s your problem now.”
I turned my head and looked up into the blackness. There was no ceiling, just dark. It extended up for what seemed like forever, and it may very well have. “Except it is my problem. Those are my friends, and even if I won’t ever belong to that world, I can’t just leave it to be destroyed. There are ponies up there that have lives to live, and there are so many possibilities for all of them and their children. Everyone needs someone fighting for them.”
Death blew on his carving, how I don’t know, and ran his skeletal fingers over it. “Who said that it has to be you? You did your part. You gave other heroes the chance to fight, and you earned a good rest. You can just be dead and happy now, you know?”
I shook my head again, kind of just rolling it along the back of the wooden bench. “No, see, that’s where you’re wrong. I can’t just lie down and die now. If there’s the chance I can get back up there and take another blow for them, then I need to take that chance. It’s like that old dead guy from Earth said, I think during the Revolutionary War. ‘I regret that I have but one life to give for my country.’ Well, there’s more than a country at stake, and if I can grab a second life, I’ll give that one up for it too.”
We both just sat there for a moment, thinking about those words. After a second, Death put his knife down beside him and turned the piece over in his hands, like he was admiring it. “What were you studying to be on Earth? What was your dream job?”
I rubbed the bottom of my chin like I had a beard. I wish I did. “Believe it or not, I was going to be a male nurse. A pediatric murse.”
He let out an almost sarcastic laugh. “Ha! Seriously? You were going to be a murse? Why? Especially with the obvious scorn that comes with that title?”
I laughed a little bit too. “Yeah, the title is made fun of, but it’s whatever. I never really cared. I wanted to work in the nursery and help with the births. Not everyone gets it, in fact hardly anyone does, but it’s a good job. Besides, if I could help babies come into life happy and healthy, then they could go on to help other people be happy and healthy, right?”
“You do realize that you have an unrealistically optimistic view of humanity, don’t you? And a really weird profession for a warrior to choose.”
I gave a little grunt. “I’m not a warrior. Nightmare Moon took me out without hardly trying. I’m a guy trying to help others. And, yeah, I guess it‘s optimistic. Well, others seem to think so. I think everyone has good and has potential to do great, good things. I’ve never stopped believing that. Don’t think I ever will, either.”
“And why not?”
“Because there’s always hope. Always.”
Death put his carving down next to the knife. “You know, I really try not to do this, but what if I were to give you the chance at life again in just one world? I mean, you would be stuck in that world forever, and no amount of magic could change that?”
I thought for a moment. “What would happen to the other world? I mean, would it just go on with me being considered dead or what?”
Death rubbed the back of his head with one hand and sighed. “Well, see, it’s not that simple. You’ve affected both worlds, so the one you didn’t choose would just be gone. It would be removed from the multiverse. And on top of it, if you were to be brought back to life you would undoubtedly undergo come sort of weird disfigurement.”
I didn’t have to hardly think about my answer. “I don’t care about the disfigurement, bit if those are my options I’ll stay dead. Either choice I make will wipe people out of existence, and they don’t deserve to suffer that because I wanted to be with my parents or with Princess Luna again for a little bit.”
“Huh…” Death mused. “Never got that answer before. Usually people chose one they really liked.”
“Really? So you’ve destroyed universes before?”
“No, I’ve actually just told them that it was a hypothetical and sent them on their way,” he said with a chuckle. “And for the exact reason you just explained. They were willing to throw away lives so they could be happy for a few more years. But no one has ever seen it the way I do. Believe it or not, I don’t like taking lives that aren’t ready. It’s just the job. Hey, check your pockets for me real quick.”
I did, and in my back pocket I found a tiny shred of fabric. It glowed softly with a gentle white light, and reminded me of the fabrics of the universe that Luna and I had pulled apart almost eight days ago. “What is this?” I asked, showing it to him.
“Well, I’ll be,” he muttered, almost in a whisper. “You really are some kind of special, aren’t you?”
“You know, everyone keeps saying that, but I really don’t think that it’s true.” I really was getting tired of hearing that.
“Yeah, but that’s probably part of why you have that.”
“Speaking of which, can you tell me what it even is?” I asked, feeling kind of impatient. Luna, Twilight and the others probably needed me, and I wanted to figure out how to get up there without killing the Earth.
“That, my friend,” Death said, sounding the slightest bit excited for the first time during my visit, “is a shred of your life. You had an intention to live so pure that you were able to hold onto it. You have such a humble opinion of yourself, such a good outlook and love of every person who ever lived, and a good enough soul that you really have been given another chance to go back to your worlds.”
“Wait,” I stopped him. “You just said ‘worlds’, as in plural. You mean I can go back and just be like I was? Without killing everyone I did and didn’t know in one world or the other?”
“Yeah, exactly.” He actually sounded happy. “I really didn’t think I would ever see this. It could be why you were an alicorn too. You were always pure enough to be a hero in Equestria. Except there weren’t any more Elements, in the traditional sense. This is really more like, you created life in its Elemental form like you‘d think of it. No one else has held onto it with this much justice. Well, you can actually use that right there to travel from world to world without damaging the fabric of the universe, and time to some extent.”
“Seriously? Why is this one so much more powerful and versatile than the others?”
“Well, one theory is that because it’s a paradox in itself, I mean finding true life in death, that it breaks all the rules, even those of magic, so it’s allowed to do more. Or it could be that since it stands alone and doesn’t have to have the other elements to work, it can do other certain things. We really don’t have the time to hash out all the details. It’s easy to use, and impossible to loose. Think of which world you want to go to, throw it into the air in front of you, and it will open a portal to the lace you need or want to go. Once you go through, it just goes back to your pocket. If you leave it somewhere, like in another pair of pants, it does the same thing. You’ll always have it if you need it.”
“You know, come to think of it, how do you know so much about it if you didn’t think it existed?”
He gave me what I guessed was a sheepish look for death. “Well, kid, I wasn’t always dead. I was your predecessor in this case. I just didn’t think it was ever going to happen again. Not that it never did. But maybe I’ll tell you that some other time. Just know you can go to Earth, Equestria, or here at the Crossroads whenever you need to. And please come here. No one ever sits and talks like this anymore.”
I laughed a little at that. “I’ll be back, don’t worry. I may even be able to take a shift and let you have some time off when I die.”
“Haha, yeah, I’d love a nap. Time moves faster than you’d think down here, though. Don’t worry,” he quickly added as I began to look worried. “This is the easiest place to time travel from. Just think of when you’d be needed when you weren’t there. Think of maybe an hour after you died. Trust me. That’s when you want to go to.” I nodded, held my breath, and focused. I was about to throw the scrap into the air when suddenly Death cried out again.
“Oh! Wait, hold on, I meant to give you these.” He quickly picked up the knife and carving he had been working on. It was a beautiful knife, and the piece was stunning. The one thing I noticed was that it had a chain on it now, making it suitable for a necklace or amulet of some kind. “Just stick the knife into your belt; it makes its own sheath since it’s enchanted. I’ve got a couple of them. And keep the pendant. It’s gonna mean something soon, believe me.”
I put the knife away and the pendant on, and then threw the scrap into the air. Unfortunately, I threw it more up than out, and the portal formed where I was going to have to climb through. “Crap. I already goofed it up,” I said under my breath. I climbed up onto the bench to get closer to it, but before I went through I had a thought. Turning to Death one last time, I asked, “By the way, you know me and most everything about me, but I want to know something. What’s your name, and what disfigurement did you undergo?”
Death just looked at me funny. “Well, I ended up with a messed up limb, which is probably what will happen to you. Don’t worry, it won’t happen when you just visit. And I’m Death. Duh.”
“No, no, your real name. What you were before you were Death?”
Death gave a start, like he hadn’t ever thought he had a name before Death. “Ben. I was Ben.”
I smiled at him. “All right then. Ben. Good name. See you later, buddy.” With that, I climbed up into the portal…

And fell on my head into Luna’s bedroom.
> Princess Luna Speaks A While
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	So, hi, it’s Luna. So, I was asked to tell you about what happened on Equestria while he was... Um, dead. Sorry, I really prefer not to talk about this whole particular battle. Well, just after being shot, he did live for a second before being entirely dead. I screamed, obviously. No one close to me was ever killed while I stood worthlessly to the side before. Once he fell, Nightmare Moon lowered the shield, and I ran forward. I don’t know what the six did, but they were a bit more cautious, I’m sure.
I knelt down beside him and magically supported his head. He didn’t have a lot of strength left, but he looked at me and smiled, of all things. Then he whispered, “Don’t worry, I’ll figure something out. Get them the hell out of here.” Then his head drooped to the side and he died. I heard his death rattle, and I almost lost it right there. He just couldn’t be dead. He survived the Elements of Harmony after all, right. This wasn’t happening.
Twilight Sparkle was the one to snap me out of it. “Princess!!” I barely heard her through my own thoughts. I looked up in time to see Nightmare Moon rising from the little bit of smoke left from his magical pulse. She realized that she had won, and she began to laugh. She laughed loud and long. While she laughed, Twilight Sparkle approached me. “Princess, we have to go! Until we find some way to aim at her easily without blasting someone again, we have to take his gift to us. We need to make it to safety.”
I finally pulled my head back to the fight. “Yes. We should go.” I stood and looked around. There was a battered chariot turned over on the other side of the courtyard. “Quickly, transport the others to that chariot and turn it upright. Have RainbowDash get ready to pull it. I will be over in a minute to help.” While Twilight moved the others to the chariot, I turned back to the body in my hooves. This wasn’t right. He shouldn’t be left here. But we couldn’t pull around a dead body, especially one that big. All I could do was close his eyes for him and wish his spirit well in its travels.
While Nightmare Moon was busy gloating, I ran to the chariot where the others were waiting. I took my place next to RainbowDash, and we took off. As we flew, RainbowDash turned to me and asked, “Hey, so where are we going, anyways? Shouldn’t you have some bright idea as to how we can beat her? I mean, you were Nightmare Moon once, right?”
“Rainbow!” AJ yelled from her seat. “That’s not a good thing to ask! Ya’ll gotta think of how she’s feelin’ right now! She just lost somepony real close tah her!”
“It’s all right, AppleJack, keeper of honesty. It is a valid question. And the truth is I do not know where we cango. Nightmare Moon will be able to follow us most anywhere we go. The safest place would be… The Crystal Caverns!”
Rarity looked at me like I lost my mind. “You mean that horrid place where Twilight and Princess Cadence were incarcerated by that dreadful Queen Chrysalis at the wedding?! But it sounded so tacky! Isn’t there someplace a little more fashionable that we could hide? *gasp* Perhaps the spa!” she squealed, clapping her hooves together.
“Aww, but Rarity,” Pinkie piped up. “Think about all of the shiny, super-splendiferous gems that would probably be down there! I bet you could find lots and lots of sparkly gems, jewels and rocks to use on all your fancy clothes!”
“This will not be a gem-hunt!” I yelled back. How could the pink one be so energetic and happy at this time? “We will be going there to hide and develop a plan as to how we will overcome Nightmare Moon without putting anypony else in any kind of danger!”
“Umm, sorry, but isn’t Nightmare Moon a kind of danger anyways? I mean, everything she does is pretty dangerous. Maybe we can talk to her and ask her not to make night last forever? I mean, if it’s all right with you. It might not be a good idea…”
Ah, the Element of Kindness. Yes, it made sense she wanted to just talk. She would never really be able to fight. Of course after this, I don’t think I would be much of an eager warrior either.
“No, Fluttershy, Keeper of Kindness, we may not simply talk Nightmare Moon out of killing the seven of us and eternally shrouding the land in eternal night. “
“Oh. Um, sorry…” That pony also had the ability to make one feel tremendously guilty for no reason at all.
“It is fine; we just need to get to the outer entrance of the caves. It should be right… There! Quickly RainbowDash, keeper of the Element of Loyalty, follow my lead!”
“You got it! And you only have to call me RainbowDash.”
“Rainbow!” the southern accent chided from the back.
We banked sharply downwards, and soon found ourselves at the entrance to the Caves. “Quickly! Everyone inside!” I yelled. There wasn’t much time before Nightmare Moon would come after us, and from here we could make our way up into the castle and create a plan. “Run deeper into the caves until you find a sheltered area, but be careful! There are steep drop-offs along the path!”
As we ran, I began to over think again. What were we doing? We couldn’t really slow down Nightmare Moon by running into these tunnels. We were just trying to prolong the inevitable. If on the off chance we did make it to my chambers, the protective spells that had been placed there would only last for a short time. And even if we could last for a while, none of us had any idea how to stop Nightmare Moon. She was just fog right now. The only way we beat the spawns was… Gods, we were in trouble.
We found an open area and took a break. RainbowDash, ever the ‘intense’ one, didn’t sit down, but flew in circles overhead, apparently trying to keep watch, for all the good it would do. “Ok, girls. We need to try and make it to my chambers. The room is protected by multiple spells, and should be able to keep us safe for a time. From there we will be able to rest longer and figure out what to do. We need a way to successfully target Nightmare Moon without putting anyone else in peril.” I choked a bit on those last words. All of us were in peril right now.
“Ooh! Maybe we can distract her with a party! I can use my party cannon and have a party ready in a jiffy! And we can have cake and balloons and ooh!! Streamers! Lots of streamers!” Pinkie Pie cried.
“Yes, well, I don’t think Nightmare Moon will be swayed by a party, no matter how fantastic the party… Wait, you actually have a party cannon?”
“Uhh, Princess, that ain’t something you want to-” AppleJack started, but it was too late.
“I never leave home without my party cannon!” Pinkie Pie gasped. “Why, if I did that, then I might not be prepared to make a super duper fun party right on the spot, and that means that I might miss out on a great time to throw a party, and there are lots of times when it would be great to throw a party, which means lots of opportunities to miss throwing a party if I didn’t have my party cannon!”
She stopped for a second to take a breath, and I used the time to start talking again. “Yes, Pinkie Pie, but the fact that it is a party cannon is what is of interest to me. We may be able to use it to not distract Nightmare Moon with pretty streamers, but ensnare her. The one thing we would have to do is place a temporary enchantment on it so that the streamers that are magically able to contain her. It is a complicated spell, but if it is cast on the entire cannon, everything inside should be affected by it. May I see it for a moment?”
“Well, of course you can! But be careful, this is actually backup cannon. My usual one is being painted. This one should be good to go, but it’s my backup because it jams sometimes. Don’t worry, it works like a charm nine tenths of the time, and the other time it just works like an old charm because usually those old charms aren’t in as good of condition and take an extra second to work, but the tenth tenth happened last time!”
Rather than spending time on trying to figure out what she just said, I called Twilight Sparkle to my side and we began to perform the spell. I could have done it myself, but in such an extreme situation it is better to be better prepared to wish you had thought further ahead.
In a few minutes, the cannon was glowing brightly with the power of residual magic. Some part of me doubted the cannon itself after Pinkie Pie’s confusing explanation of it being the backup, but it was our best chance. Now we just had to get it to my chambers to try and fire on Nightmare Moon in relative safety. “How do you move it from place to place?” I asked the energetic pony.
“Well, it’s simple!” she said with a bounce. “See, I just take it in both my front hooves, move it behind me, and it inexplicably disappears into some sort of pocket dimension until I need it again! Then I just reach behind me with both hooves again and it reappears!!” She finished with a demonstration, which didn’t help at all. The important thing was it was easy enough to move. “All right then,” I said, turning to the others. “We need to take it to my chambers and prepare for our attack. Just in case, try to find the most reflective, flattest sheet of rock. Make it as big as you can while still useable as a shield. If you find two, go ahead and bring both. Given the reflective properties of the gems and stone down here, we may be able to not just protect ourselves, but reflect Nightmare Moon‘s own spells back at her.”
It took longer than I would have liked, but we soon had two “shields”, one so excellently proportioned you would have thought that it was specially crafted, and the other less excellent but acceptable. The good one was given to Pinkie Pie to hold, while I carried the other as I led the way.
It was a long walk to where the caverns met up with the castle dungeons, but it was made uneventfully. The caves met up with the castle dungeons in a cell that was specifically never used, in case a dangerous pony were thrown in and happened to stumble upon an escape. I was back to where I started, with the Elements of Harmony in tow ad a plan that was improbable at best. My sister was either dead or banished, the Captain’s whereabouts were unknown, though if Tia had fallen he surely would have given his life before she could, and the man who had in one week become my closest companion was… I still can’t bring myself to say it. I just had to finish this before anypony else could suffer such a fate.
Coming out of the caverns and into the dungeons, we were met with an unexpected yet very welcome surprise. As we began to head towards the door to the rest of the palace, something in one of the cells moved. Nopony had been incarcerated when we were down here last, and Nightmare Moon was hardly one to take prisoners. Levitating the crude shield in front of us, I readied a magical bullet for whatever for we were to face.
Instead of a foe, however, Shining Armor stood from beneath a tattered blanket that camouflaged him within the cell. He shook himself, generating a great cloud of dust, and ran to us. “Princess!” he exclaimed. “Twily!”
Twilight Sparkle ran to him, gladly embracing the familiar face. “Shining Armor! You’re alive! But why are you down here? Where are Celestia and the royal guards? Why were you hiding under a blanket?”
He nuzzled her reassuringly. “Don’t worry; the guard was released until this crisis is over. They couldn’t have hoped to stand against Nightmare Moon anyways. Celestia ordered them and myself away when she went to face Nightmare Moon alone. I wasn’t going to leave the castle, though, so I decided to come down here and wait for you to return. Just before coming down, though, I did see Celestia get banished to the sun. So she is alive, but we must help her soon.”
“Thank you Captain,” I said. “Your loyalty, dutifulness, and bravery is commended and greatly appreciated. Do you know anything else about the situation in the rest of the castle?”
He cocked his head to the side like he was having difficulty remembering anything. “Well, I didn’t leave here much once I got here, but I do know that I haven’t seen Nightmare Moon anywhere inside, even when you all were gone. Speaking of which, where is the other guy? I can’t think of his name… It isn’t said much.”
I didn’t say anything. I just hung my head. Twilight Sparkle was the one to break the news to him. “Shining, he… He died protecting us. He took on Nightmare Moon by himself so that we wouldn’t have to be put at risk. He also allowed the Spawn from Nightmare Moon attach to him so that we could successfully destroy them. The power of the Elements turned him into an alicorn. He…” She couldn’t talk anymore. It was too much for her. She collapsed sobbing into Shining Armor’s mane. That was what really allowed it to sink in for the others. Nobody but Shining Armor was dry eyed. Even RainbowDash was sniffling.
Shining Armor looked steadily at the wall. He had seen others fall, such as in the Changeling Invasion, those rare few who were drained so totally of love that they perished. He appeared as if he were working to maintain his composure though. “Then we have to defeat her. Not just for Canterlot and Equestria. For the traveler from another world who cared, totally and wholly.”
We left the dungeons after that. No one said a word on the way up the stairs of the Night Wing.  Words could not help this situation. Despite the sorrow we now carried, we were on guard for any sign of Nightmare Moon. But everything was strangely silent. Everything was greatly different from her last true invasion of Canterlot, when she and I were one. During that time, we rained destruction from the sky without mercy. Everyone knew when Nightmare Moon was there. Why did she hold back now?
When we reached the doors to my hall, they opened noiselessly, the handles glowing with the soft blue aura of my magic. We all went inside and tried to figure out what our defensive plan was going to be. Before we could figure it out, though, the strangest thing happened. Above our heads, floating at a 30 degree angle, a portal formed, much like the portal leading from Earth to Equestria. The greatest visible difference was that rather than being a deep indigo, this one had a strange white glow about it. Suddenly, a hand came down from it and gripped the side, causing everyone to jump. But it was a human hand. I could not believe what I was seeing. The rest of the arm slowly came into view, and all at once the rest fell out of the portal, headfirst onto the bedpost, graceful as ever.

> Doubts and Fears
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	So, coming back to life wasn’t as weird as I had thought it was going to be. It was… Tingly. My whole body tingled. Especially when I landed on the bedpost. Come to think of it, that may have been why I was so tingly. Either way, I felt fuzzy all over and was dazed. Everything for a moment was blurry, including Luna running up to me. If her face wasn’t a big purple splotch, I imagine she would have looked really worried. Or afraid. All I could make out was, “Oh, by Tartarus, what have you been through? Are you ok?”
Looking up at her, I flashed the biggest, goofiest grin I could and slurred, “I’m Bobbin. Are you my mother?” Everything was clearing up quickly, and I could hear someone snort in laughter, probably Shining Armor since it was a deep, manly kind of snort, and I could kind of see Luna roll her eyes.
“Gods, you need to quit doing that. You really are excellent at getting yourself hurt, aren’t you?”
I used the bedpost to try and stand, ignoring the warm, red blood that was covering it. I felt my head and felt the cut. Luckily I just glanced off the bedpost and mostly landed on the mattress, but it still hurt like a bitch. “Yeah, well, everyone needs a hobby. I’m just good at screwing everything I touch up. We’re in your room, right?” As I stood, I noticed I was wearing a long robe, pretty much exactly like Death’s. It was probably a reminder or souvenir of my visit. I still had my old clothes on, they were just underneath.
She stood next to me to offer support, wrapping one wing around me while I leaned on her shoulder. “Yes, we are. The Elements are here, as is Shining Armor. We have evaded Nightmare Moon for the moment, but it is only a matter of time until she comes for us. But right now, I want to know how in the name of the celestial spheres are you here?" Her voice grew stern, like what she was really saying was “Tell me what the hell is going on or I’ll stuff you ass first back to the land of the dead.”
“Yeah, that’s a really long chapter, and we probably don’t have the time to go over it. Suffice it to say, I’m buddies with death now, my- sorry, our world hopping problems are over, and I probably have some kind of hideous or grotesque deformity, which is the side effect of coming back to life. Hey, real quick though, I’ve probably got a mild concussion from the bedpost. Where’s the bathroom?”
Luna helped me quickly wobble over to the toilet and I vomited for what felt like an hour. When I stood up to wash my face, I saw that the sword and moon pendant had fallen out from under the neck of the robes. I picked it up and almost went right back to the toilet. The horrible disfigurement was that my right arm was skeletal! I rolled up my sleeve and saw that my bicep tapered off about halfway down my upper arm. The bottom half of my upper arm all the way down was just bone. Where the skin and muscle ended it twisted around the bone and ended in kind of a twisted mess.
“Oh, hell, I gotta be tripping now, this is beyond a concussion,” I said quietly, turning so that the others could see. Rarity swooned loudly and collapsed onto a pillow provided by Twilight, who just squeezed her eyes shut as tightly as she could. Fluttershy became almost non-existent as she fled to the furthest corner from me and curled into a whimpering ball. AJ’s jaw just dropped and RainbowDash gagged and put a hoof up to her mouth. Even Pinkie let out a less-comic-than-usual gasp of dismay. Shining Armor whispered a prayer to someone, probably Celestia, and Luna crumpled to the floor where she stood, and just lay there quietly sobbing.
I made a fist a few times. It worked just like it always had, it was just skeletal now. I guess magic or something was taking the place of the tendons and ligaments. It would do, I guess. I wasn’t really feeling a lot of emotion about this, being honest though. In the past twenty four hours alone I had had my soul torched by a rainbow, been turned into an alicorn, ought Nightmare Moon, been killed, and came back to life by what I understood as pure, virtuous will to live. This was kind  of just another thing to add onto the list. I felt the most sorry for Princess Luna. I couldn’t even begin to imagine what was going through her mind right now. I went over to her to say something, but as I approached she turned her head away. I can’t really blame her. I was in a terrible state, and I probably pretty awful looking.
There was nothing I could say anyways. Right now, I needed to figure out what to do next. I turned to Shining Armor. He was probably the most used to horrible disfigurements. Maybe he would talk to me. “All right, did you guys have a plan before I was a monster no one will talk to?”
“Dude, don’t be offended,” he said quietly. “It’s just going to be incredibly painful and difficult adjusting to this. Even I’ve never seen anything like this.”
“Yeah I know, but I didn’t expect this either. This is way worse for me than you guys, especially since this is an after effect of being killed and coming back to life. I just want to finish this fight. No one else should have to go through this. Now come on, let’s get to work. What plan or materials did you have ready before I showed up, then?”
Pinkie was the first Element to start to recover. “Well, I have a magical party cannon that Princess Luna and Twilight think will be able to bind up Nightmare Moon long enough for us to hit her with the Elements of Harmony. We also have two big shiny rocks that can be used as shields if someone levitates or holds them.” She reached behind herself with both hooves and pulled out the infamous party cannon and what I later learned was the good shield. I couldn’t help but notice that she was less than her usually bouncy self.
I smiled from ear to ear. “Girls, this is incredible!” I said. “I’m proud of you! This is a great idea! The reflective capabilities of the stone from the Caves should be enough to knock back any of Nightmare Moon’s spells back at her, and the enchanted party cannon is a stroke of genius! Who came up with these?”
AppleJack finally caught up with the conversation. “It was the princess. She came up with a real hum-dinger of a plan for fightin’ Nightmare Moon since you were… ya know… dead.”
I rubbed the back of my head awkwardly with my skeletal hand. I could feel all the different bones of my hand run against the skin of my scalp. It was strange still being able to feel with the hand even though I had no skin. I guess even Death and magically-dead things like being able to feel too. “Yeah, yeah, I was dead, I will give you that. Had a really nice talk with Death, though. Ben, his real name is Ben. Seems strangely fitting, like I’ve associated it with death before… Huh. Either way, I was dead, and this plan is great. We need to get working though. Can everyone kind of start to function a little bit? At least if you ignore the arm?”
Everyone nodded and started to mutter in agreement, even Rarity, who Twilight had been able to wake up and keep from fainting again while I was talking. Luna was the only one who didn’t move. She was taking it hardest of all. She was still lying on the floor crying. I told Pinkie to make sure her cannon was in working order and find a place she would be able to easily aim at the windows, then had AJ reinforce the door and secure the shields to the windows. While everyone tried to help where they could, I went to try and talk to Luna. She hadn’t said a word since she had demanded an explanation for my being alive again, and if we were going to make it through the fight, we were going to need her. She was still the most powerful magic user we had.
“Uh, Luna?” I approached slowly, rolling my right sleeve down to cover my entire arm except for the hand. As I got closer I knelt and put out my good hand to her. “Can we count on you for some help? You have the most magical ability out of all of us, and we’re going to need that when the time comes. Plus, you know the most about Nightmare Moon-”
“NO!!” she screamed, turning furiously on me. “I don’t know anything about Nightmare Moon!! When I was Nightmare Moon I never killed anyone!! Despite the Nightmare Night legends about the children and all of the destruction brought, I NEVER killed!! Especially those I loved!! Through the madness that is the Nightmare, there was a LINE!! This is nothing like the Nightmare Moon I knew!! I!! AM!! USELESS!!” She collapsed back into a heap, crying harder than ever.
The outburst stopped everyone in their tracks. All had heard the legends and stories, and even I assumed that somepony had died in the first invasion a thousand years ago. This was news to all of us. I let my hand fall slowly and stood up straight. Moving to the center of the room, I crouched and focused all my energy into the magic that now resided in my body. Something good must have come out of the blow to the head and cosmic, back-to-life befuddlement, because I knew how to transform between my human and pony forms. I let the cloak fall and I realized that it was also covering up a set of huge wings that hadn’t been there when I was dead. Next time I was human I was definitely going to have to play with those possibilities. No more walking to class for me. But I was letting myself get distracted. If I was going to pull this off, especially for the first time, I had to be totally committed.
I felt the change happening again, and this time wasn’t so bad. I winced as my legs and pelvis remodeled themselves, but that pain was becoming old news now. The change of my midsection went better too, what with my wings already being there. The part that really interested me was when my front legs formed. Since my skin wasn’t in the way, I could see the bones bending and to some degree actually breaking down to form my equine bones. When the change got to my head, I felt the indentation of my skull fix itself as part of the transformation. Apparently broken bones fixed themselves when I changed, just not any other medical issues, like cuts or scrapes.
When the change was over, I stood a tall alicorn again. The pendant was still around my neck, and my front right leg was still skeletal. I walked up to Luna again and knelt beside her, drawing her close with my wing. Shedding pull away, but didn’t quite look at me either. “Hey, come on, look at me. Just ignore the leg. It means nothing.” I made sure to try and speak softly, like I was comforting a child. She looked up at me, her eyes bloodshot from having been crying for the last ten minutes. “See? I’m still the same guy I was before I died," I said, smiling a little. “I still make bad jokes, even by human standards. I still don’t back down from a good cause. That’s the reason I was able to come back. I’ll explain that all the way later. I’m still a kid in a young adult’s body, and I still love you.”
In that moment, we were the only two in the worlds. It felt strange saying it flat out like that, but it was good to say it like that, rather than dropping hints like in front of Nightmare Moon. She looked at me for a second, eyes as big as full moons and as beautiful as her own night sky, and shimmering like the stars of her constellations. She finally smiled.  She put a hoof forward and put it on my skeletal leg. She looked at me for just a second more and quietly said, “I love you too.”
We kissed for only the second time, but it was the best kiss I had ever experienced. The first thing to break our eternity there was Pinkie Pie sobbing tears of joy and blowing her nose loudly, confetti and sprinkles flying through her handkerchief. “Oh, ho, ho, that’s so sweet!! “ Suddenly, she stopped crying and began to bounce off the walls, more literally than I would have thought possible. “Oh! Oh! I know! When all this is over, I’ll throw a “Nightmare-Moon-is-defeated-happy-love-to-you-enjoy-your-skeletal-limb-and-new-weird-human-wings” party!! And we can have cake and balloons and streamers and candy and chocolate and play all sorts of party games and we’ll all have a super-duper happy-fun time!!”
Everyone began to laugh, lightening the mood. It wasn’t for long, though. We finally ran out of time, and Nightmare Moon could be heard laughing madly outside the window. Clouds began to gather and lightning filled the skies. A stormy tension filled the air in the room, and wind could be heard tearing across the land. Without warning, the shields on the windows were blown off their half-finished stands, the large one flying harmlessly across the room and the small one nearly decapitating Rarity. 
“Aww, how touching. What a lovely scene. I hope it was sufficient, because this time I’m going to make sure you can never come back from the dead!” Nightmare Moon’s voice echoed through every crevice of the building, it seemed. She sounded as if she were everywhere. I had a much cleared idea of what I was going to do this time. She had probably learned from our past encounter and wouldn’t talk while she was reforming. That means she could be anywhere. But the trait I could cash in was that she was taller than anyone else in the room except me.
I stood and backed into a corner of the room where I faced everything. I began to charge my horn with magical power again, and after a few moments let it out in a much more concentrated blast. Rather than covering the entire area, I hit everywhere just above the tallest of my allies, which was at that point was Shining Armor. There were flaws in the idea, I admit, but it worked again. Nightmare Moon must have seen it coming only a second too late, because when it struck her it only hit the top of her head, simply knocking her to the back of the room.
We weren’t going to get a much better chance than that to fire the cannon at her. “Pinkie, quick, go!” I yelled, firing a quick shot to distract her. Pinkie was already next to the cannon, so all she had to do was turn and shoot. But her shot went right through Nightmare Moon without even fazing her.
“Ha!” Nightmare Moon began to gloat. “You really thought an enchanted cannon was going to help against me?! This is your most pathetic attempt yet!!”
Now I was nervous. I really thought that it was going to work. And I already knew I couldn’t over power her. The only luck I had ever had was…



When I did the dumbest thing I could think of.

> Two Powers Fall... 1.5, at least
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	So, the really bad idea? I had to fight her face to face, but as a human. No magic, and I would tuck my wings away, too. Just fight her as myself.
“Everyone, get in the bathroom. NOW.” God, this had better work. Luckily it was a huge bathroom, almost as big as the bedroom. While the others ran to the bathroom, I levitated the good shield over to me and put it by my side. As Luna went by, she shot me a look that clearly said ‘Don’t get killed again’, but all I did was wink and throw another stupid grin to her. As they closed the door, I closed my eyes and began to focus. I felt the bones in my body all changing back into my human form. I was really starting to get tired of this. Everything cracked and remodeled, and everything hurt again. Soon I was a human again, and everything was back in its place. I picked up the shield and held it by some of the barrier that was still somewhat attached to the back of it. Damn it, I was trusting my second life to a rock on a stick and a pocket knife. I had it on my left side, but my right hand was dominant, so I figured I ought to use my right to use the blade. The shield was big and clunky on either side, but the blade changed when I held it in my bony hand. It grew into a decently sized sword, and it looked like the sword on the amulet, bone hilt and all.
Now that it wasn’t a little knife and I didn’t have a clue how to use it again, my heart sank. I was going to lose again, and this time I was going doubt myself enough that I wouldn’t be able to come back. I probably should have just stayed dead. It was nice and quiet, and I didn’t have a freakish dead arm. What the hell was I doing? My hand started to fall, the tip of the sword beginning to fall, and I was kind of waiting for Nightmare Moon to just take her shot. I guess she was just enjoying seeing the despair sink into me. I looked up to see if she was prepping or gloating or what, but she was just staring, waiting for me to do something. Obviously this was out of character, but I really didn't care.
“Well?” I asked. “You didn’t waste any time killing me last time, and I actually had some amount of power that time. Go ahead.”
Realizing I wasn’t really feeling the will to fight, she shrugged and prepped a blast. As she fired, though, everything stopped. The bolt was halfway out her horn; a lightning flash was half-way across the sky. The air of tension was gone, the magic crackling through the room, it all stopped.
Out of the darkness came a familiar voice. “Dude! What the hell is wrong with you? Seriously! I give you a second change, and you’re going to let yourself get toasted that easily?! What is your problem?!” Ben yelling at me was not the last living memory I wanted to have.
“Man, you know what? Just shut up! You know what it’s like here! This is ridiculous! I have no idea how to use a sword and shield, and even if I did she’s made of pure magic! I can’t touch her!”
“Yeah, and even if you didn't know how to use the sword, a shield is pretty damn easy to figure out! Especially one that reflects spells back at the casters?! Getting my drift?”	I was spinning around by now, trying to see him. “Yeah, gotcha, I can send her own spells back. She’s smart enough that I’m only going to be able to do that once! And even if that were to solidify her enough to make her vulnerable, that’s not going to last long!”
“All right, you know what, just tell the knife to shrink a bit, if that’s going to be easier for you. And as a tip, I’ll tell you that knife is made out of my bones! That I regenerated. Think for a second. A knife made out of death? Really, how many hits are you going to need?”
It finally hit me. “Oh. Wait, why are you telling me this? Isn’t this cheating?”
I could hear him sigh. “I’m not a big fan of these souls that are killed or prematurely dead. And if she takes over, that’s all I’m going to get. It’s like what you said; they all should live a long life before making it to me.”
“Makes sense. What about this amulet? I thought you said it was going to be useful?”
“Maybe I lied. I’m already dead, they can’t change my sentence. I’m gonna start time back up, I’d get in place if I were you.”
“Right. Well, thanks. See you later.”
“Yeah, whatever.” He obviously wasn’t happy, but things were slowly starting to move again. I got back to where I was standing before everything was normal again, and managed to deflect the bolt back at Nightmare Moon. Things didn’t go the way Ben seemed to think they would, though.
The bolt hit her, true enough. But she didn’t slow down at all. Instead she got angry and began to fire at random in my general direction. A few ricocheted off the shield but only one more hit her. That time she was stunned, giving me enough time to run forward and swing the blade in an upward arc. It struck and sliced through her now tangible chest plate, but she didn’t die. In fact, she grew taller, and as she grew taller she grew louder. Out of desperation, I swung the sword in vicious arcs, but every blow struck just made her stronger.
“Hahaha!” she laughed more loudly than ever. “You foal!! That idiot Ben stopped time while I was shooting at you, didn’t he?! That man doesn’t know the first thing about the magic he commands! I cannot be killed by your blade of death because I am not alive in such a sense! Magical consciousness cannot simply be put down, and by existing within it, I can absorb this magic, you have allowed me to become more powerful than ever!!! With a great flare of her wings and a burst of magical energy, she summoned the winds of a hurricane within the room, successfully blowing most of the roof of the wing off. Luckily, Luna’s room was the top floor.

After avoiding a few pieces of falling rubble, I backed up a bit so that I could see Nightmare Moon better. She was twice as tall as I was now, and immeasurably more powerful. She didn’t even have to really try anymore, and she knew it. As she stood above me shooting missile after missile, I could do nothing but keep my shield held up and try to find some cover while I came up with something new. I was beginning to feel that doubt creep into me again, but really after his outburst I didn’t want to give Ben the satisfaction of calling me a loser again.
Nightmare Moon was treating this as a game. She still shot normal missiles, but here and there she would shoot a ball of deadly magic in a high, lazy ark that came down and blew up as it landed. Glowing spots of melted stone lined the walls and dotted the floor where the more intense shots had struck, and there was no piece of furniture in the room left undamaged or even in one piece. The bed Caught fire due to an errant blast bouncing off my shield, and I still couldn’t figure out what my next move was.
Suddenly the bathroom door burst open again and Luna came racing out, a magical shield raised in front of her and expression that was a cross between anger and fear. “Look out!” she screamed, even though I would have been fine if I hadn’t been wondering what the hell was going on in the bathroom.
When she plowed into me to “save” me from a missile that would have hit my shield anyways, I got a little bit pissed off. “Damn it, Luna! I had everything covered!” I lied angrily. “You need to get back under cover until I can figure out how to win this battle!”
She shook her head firmly. “No. I can’t just let you face her like this. You need someone by your side. Not ten minutes ago we really said ‘I love you’ for the first time. I will not let you die again without me by your side. So drop it. Dear,” she finished off with a sarcastic smile. Wow. Our first argument and I already lost. If I live, I’m in trouble.
Nightmare Moon must have gotten tired of lazily wrecking the room, because she turned her focus back onto active trying to kill me. Well, it was us now, but either way it was a bad thing. She turned back into a cloud of magic and began to just fly in circles around the room. At first I didn’t see the strategy behind it, but it soon became clear. We couldn’t tell where the majority of her was. It was just one huge circle of evil magic, and it was slowly descending to our level. As it got closer, though, it began to spark with electricity and it sped up in its decent. Once it got to us, there would be no way to dodge it. All we could do was position a shield in either direction and hope for the best.
Nightmare Moon hit my shield once she got to us, but this wasn’t like blocking a spell. This was trying to stop a galloping mare who ran with a purpose. I only stood for a second before falling underneath the tremendous force. Unfortunately, Luna was now in the way of the swirling mare of darkness. With a scream of terror and pain, she crumpled to the floor.
Watching Luna fall I knew a greater terror than I felt even watching the bolt that killed me fly at my chest. That terror sparked something in me very similar to the spark within Twilight that night when she heard her friends coming to help her. After hitting Luna, Nightmare Moon stopped and stood on the other side of the room, smaller now just for the sake of easy fighting. I turned to her and she gave a small start, like something about me had changed. I was so scared and so angry, though, at that point if she had attacked I wouldn’t have had the mental capability to stop her. All I could do was yell, “ENOUGH!!” in a voice that rivaled even Luna’s Royal Canterlot voice. “You will not be responsible for the harm or the death of another person or pony if there is ANYTHING I can do about it!!”
Remember that Ben had told me that I had kind of created Life in its elemental form as we consider it? Well, using an element isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. Don’t get me wrong, it was great at first. I felt a sensation come over me very similar to the general feel of being dead. I felt myself become lighter than the air around me and a warmth flowed through my body. I tried to control whatever was happening, but it was too powerful. Even while the feeling of death came over me, I felt an incredible amount of life welling up from within me. The exhaustion and pain I had felt from the fight was entirely gone, and the moon and sword amulet still miraculously around my neck began to glow with a white light.
Exhilarated by the feeling of such power, I continued to lecture Nightmare Moon. “You’ve done this far too often! Even the first time was too often. You come down to Equestria and try to make the night last forever, despite the defiance of the ponies here! This time you’ve really gone too far, though! Actually becoming desperate enough to kill?! I get wanting the beauty of the night to last forever, but you can’t come here and tell me that me and mine have to lay down and die for what you believe and we don‘t! There is NO cause so great that people against it need to die for it too! In this world or any other!”
It was after my rant that I began to feel less than stellar. The power began to flow out of me in a burning arc. Had it been multi-colored and twirling, it would have been just like the other Elements of Harmony when they were active. The energy burned as it left me, using the amulet as an escape point and reminding me of when I was hit by the Elements the last time, but not hurting as badly. It was really more the feeling that my heart and soul were being put into this single shot, and every good intention that I ever had was trying to give a new life to my target, who was screaming in fear of the light somewhere I couldn’t pinpoint anymore.
When the light faded, I realized that’s exactly what had happened. I don’t know the details of how, but the Element of Life had given Nightmare Moon a new body, a new life, and therefore new Earthly--err, ‘Equestrianly’ limitations. She wasn’t able to absorb unlimited deathly energy, she wasn’t able to survive my sword slashes, and she wasn’t able to turn into a giant version of herself and shoot oversized bombs at me. We were playing an even game again.
Except that using the Element was incredibly draining. Every fiber of my being was exhausted from giving a brand new life to Nightmare Moon, as if I had given up part of mine. And the way all this life-and-death magic was working, I didn’t doubt that I had. But this was the home stretch. Barely keeping myself from collapsing, I wrapped my dead hand around my sword one more time. Running forward, I swung the blade in an upward arc, clashing with her horn. She must have known that this would be the deciding round too.
We traded blows for several minutes, sparks of magic repelling magic and power clashing with power. Each blow was utterly painful, and sweat ran down my face. She was becoming winded as well. Each block was coming slower than the last, but then each of my strikes was coming slower too. It was the girls who came to the rescue again.
“Come on, girls!” Twilight’s voice cried from the far side of the room. “We have to help our friend!” I couldn’t afford a turn to look at them; I could only try to listen for when the power of the Elements was unleashed. As soon as I heard the big booming noise, I jumped out of the way. The light struck Nightmare Moon and she could be heard protesting through the roar of magic. As the light faded, I could see that she was still there, just on her knees in agony. This was my only chance. I couldn’t bring myself to stand, and could only use the last of my power to throw the sword of the dead over my body at the evil mare. By a miracle and probably the very last of my luck, the blade hit its mark, not causing a usually fatal would, but enough of one that death’s power could seep into her body. Waxing a bit morbid now, she didn’t make much noise as she died, just a heavy sigh like she had known she would lose the fight for a while.
I let my head fall back onto the floor below me. It was over. Finally. We could rest now. Luna came rushing over again. I swear, that mare is always in a hurry and is always worried.
“Dear? Dear, are you ok?” She asked, panic in her voice.
Deciding now was a tense moment to make a bad joke, I looked at her and smiled weakly. “Mother? Is that you? I… I washed my hands… Do you think they have candy corn in heaven? I wasn’t there long last time…” When she started to hyperventilate, I knew that was a good time to stop. “Jeeze, relax. I’ll be fine,” I said with a chuckle. “Though, I would like to know, do I get a pet name to call you, because “Princess” is a common pet name on Earth, and that’s just wonderfully ironic.”
She couldn’t really say anything for a few minutes, just glare angrily and sputter. When she gathered herself, all she said was, “Just realize it wouldn’t be difficult for me to kill you right now.”
I coughed a little and spat some blood off to the side. “Nah, are you kidding? I feel invincible right now. Really, want to race? First one to the ‘lying on the floor’ position wins.” Luckily she began to smile again. “Hey, quick thought, where did Nightmare Moon hit you?”
Shaking her head like she was amazed I was still joking, she said, “She hit me in the side. I actually haven’t looked at it. Is it bad?” she asked, turning so I could see the huge bruise forming on her side, just behind her wind.
“Are you kidding?” I raised an eyebrow while I said it. “It’s beautiful. So many pretty colors, like black and blue and… Well, black and blue are nice colors. Night colors. Lucky she didn’t hit your wing.”
“Yeah, I guess,” she muttered. “Well, what do we do now?”
As if she had been outside waiting for the perfect time to show up, Celestia descended from the night sky, landing lightly on the floor. Looking around, she looked a little surprised that we had caused that much damage in such a short amount of time, but she wasn’t angry this time as far as I could tell. She walked over to us slowly, like she wasn’t sure if I was safe to be near.
“You have done a great thing here today,” she said in a barely audible whisper. “You have rid the world of a great evil today. Both worlds, really. Had she succeeded, Nightmare Moon would have undoubtedly become bored with Equestria and tried to take over other worlds. You have saved many lives.”
“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I have to like the way we managed it,” I groaned, barely managing to sit up even with Luna’s help.
“What do you mean?” Celestia appeared confused. “There was no other way to stop her reign.”
“Doesn’t matter,” I said. “I don’t like the fact that I killed her. Part of the reason I became or was blessed with the Element of Life was because I had a great reverence for life in all forms, even one like hers.” I nodded towards the corpse. “And then I turned around and used that reverence to kill, which makes people the opposite of alive, last I experienced.”
The confused look didn’t leave her face. “Experienced? What do you mean?” Either she hadn’t seen my skeletal arm (it was kind of hidden by Luna) or didn’t know how I got it.
“Check out the window. About the middle of the main courtyard. Big charred thing. At least it's probably charred.”
She looked out the window, found what I was describing, and gasped. “Oh, gods, what have you been through?”
“Yeah, everyone has already said that. Next.” She looked back at me like she was disappointed with the joke. “Oh, please don’t shoot me,” I grinned, trying to stand. I was probably pushing myself too hard, but I wanted to try and be presentable. Before I could really make any progress, though, I was engulfed by a soft, golden aura.
“Please, don’t push yourself any farther. You really must to rest.”
Allowing myself to be caressed by the magic, I relaxed again. “Yeah, you might be right about that. Sorry about torching your bedroom though,” I added, looking at Luna.
“Don’t worry about it,” she said, coming close and nuzzling my face. “It needed to be redecorated anyways. I wasn’t particularly fond of the décor.” She smiled, letting me enjoy one of her jokes for a change. I lifted my dead arm and brushed her muzzle, noticing she didn’t shudder or anxiety at its touch for the first time.
I guess that was the first time Celestia noticed the arm, because she just said, “You are going to have to explain that, too.”
“Yeah, don’t worry; everyone is still looking for that story. But I’d like a little rest first. Oh, Rarity,” I threw in as an after-thought. “Can you grab my cloak if it’s still in four pieces or less? Shining Armor, grab the knife, but only with your magic and make sure you don’t touch the blade. Pinkie, since you did such a good job last time, will you keep hold of my shield?”

Shortly after that, I blacked out.
> Hope Lives... And I Do Too
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	I woke up in the same bed as the last time I had passed out, when I first arrived here. It felt like such a long time ago. I didn’t know how long I was out, but when I woke it was daylight outside. That was good to see. It meant things were back in order.
I was still a human, and all my clothes and belongings were either propped up or sitting on the bedside table to my left. The shield was leaning up, shining softly, hardly the worse for wear despite what it had been through. My old clothes, the ones that had come through the first portal with me, were as folded as they could be, but they were clearly shredded up pretty well. A new set was there too. I guess I had been out long enough for Rarity to make them based off of my old ones. The knife was back to its original size, and the amulet was lying on top, its cord wrapped around the handle. At the bottom of it all was my cloak. It looked as if it were brand new. I guess it was enchanted too, probably to keep it safe from damage or just regular wear and tear.
I turned my head to look at the right side of the room, and I could see Princess Luna sleeping on the couch and Princess Celestia standing at the window, gazing out into the sky. She was lost in thought, just looking into the clear blue. I could see the sky past her, a clear, bright blue only spotted here and there with a cloud, sleepily wandering through its territory.
She only turned when I went to stand up, then turned right back around when she realized I wasn’t wearing anything. I guess they didn’t have human-sized hospital gowns. “You know, you really must rest. You have been through an incredible ordeal. You deserve a years’ worth of sleep, and could probably use it too.”
“Yeah, well, I’ll go visit the Crossroads later. That’s a nice, relaxing place,” I said, trying on the pants Rarity made. They were a bit loose, but luckily my belt was still intact. Rarity must have left some room for error. They were nice, made of a soft fabric I had never seen on Earth. They felt durable, too, like they were sewn to take damage. That pony knows her work, I will give her that.
“Yes, well, I do apologize for that,” she replied, her head falling in her shame. “I should have been able to defeat Nightmare Moon. This is my kingdom to protect. If I cannot protect it, then what use am I to it?”
I sighed as I finished getting dressed. I couldn’t really stand, it hurt to try. There were probably stress fractures or something that they just didn’t know what to do about. Luckily my wings had lasted through the ordeal relatively unscathed, and Rarity had been thoughtful enough to add slots in the back where I could just get them through. It was strange thinking that I was stuck with wings and magic no matter what form I took. But it could have its advantages. I gave them a test flap and I was lightly lifted from the bed. I made a silver wheelchair from most of the magic I could muster from my human body, and then used my wings to propel me over to the window. Oh, yeah. This was going to be sweet.
I looked at the mare standing above me. She was scared, which I imagine was unusual for her. I placed my bone hand on her shoulder and felt her tense. Apparently she wasn’t over it like her sister was yet. Or she still just didn’t like me. “You know, you don’t have to be any kind of all-powerful warrior or super-powered hero to be a great ruler. You were doing wonderfully before Nightmare Moon came back this time, and you will do wonderfully now that she is gone again. And remember, neither Luna or myself could take her on by ourselves either. Or the Elements of Harmony for that matter. She was much more powerful and had a lot more tricks up her sleeves this time around. And she probably will next time too.”
Without looking at me, Celestia said, “But there won’t be a next time, remember? You finally killed her. She’s gone.”
Shrugging a bit I responded, “True, and you may be right, but remember that a thousand years ago she was created out of Luna’s jealousy and feelings of inadequacy when compared to the day. She wasn’t alive and didn’t exist before then. A wise old woman once told me, ‘True evil can never be destroyed’.”
Looking down with a doubtful smile, Celestia chuckled, “Really? A wise old woman? And just who would have that been?”
I knew I was busted, and blushing a bit I said, “Ok, maybe it was a middle aged voodoo lady from a Monkey Island (Copyright LucasArts) game, but it’s a solid theory. We can just enjoy the peace we get between each crazy villain, and when they come around we just have to defeat them and make sure the world, the sun, and the moon keep spinning.”
Celestia thought about this for a second, looking back outside. “Huh,” she said. “You are very wise for someone so young and inexperienced. It has taken me ages of deep thought to understand that which you already seem to know.”
“And that’s the problem,” I pointed out. “You’re thinking too hard. I don’t think enlightenment comes from a lifetime of deep inner searching; it comes from a lifetime of living, for lack of a better phrase. If you sit in a room with incense and your legs crossed all by yourself for your whole life, you don’t receive a special vision. You receive agoraphobia. At least that’s how I’ve always seen it. Of course what do I know? I ran headlong into a battle with a magical being with the power of a goddess.”
“Yes, and it was incredibly attractive,” a voice came from the couch. I turned in my chair to see that Luna was awake and had silently stood while we were talking. “What was the phrase you used two weeks ago? ‘Wow, that was hot?’”
I laughed and wheeled myself over. “Yeah, those were my words. How long have you been awake?”
She took a step forward, making a triangle out of the three of us. “Since you started talking. I heard all of you wise words, and I agree with them,” she said, pointedly looking at her sister. “You have done a masterful job of watching over the kingdom, even when you did it alone. Now that you are no longer alone, you must realize that you can come to others for help when you need it. And as for you, mister,” she said turning to me, putting on a false expression of steely-eyed anger. “You are never allowed to get yourself killed by anyone besides me again, even for a little while. Understand me?”
Responding to her false anger with poorly acted shame, I just muttered “Yes, Princess.” I lost the ability to keep a straight face after that though, and soon the three of us were all laughing. The two of them looked like they were out of practice, but that could be worked on. “By the way, how long have you been on that couch? You should have been sleeping in a real bed, at least using my old room. I don’t think it got ruined in the fight.”
Celestia answered for her. “She has not left your side for the week you have been here,” she said with a smile at her younger sister. “You should be proud of her. And very good to her,” she added, her face growing very serious.
“Tia!” Luna chastised her, blushing just a little bit.
“Oh, he knows I won’t shoot at him. To kill.” The Princess of the Day seemed to finally be warming up to me. “But you really should be proud,” she continued. “Both of her and yourself. Of yourself for having the ability to inspire such loyalty, and of her for obvious reasons.”
I smiled at my princess. “I couldn’t be prouder of her. She handled herself beautifully in a difficult situation following a traumatic event. For all of us. And then had the forethought to grab two shields from caves full of magic reflecting rocks.” Her blush grew even darker and she shyly turned her head away a little bit. “The only thought I have left, and sorry if this kills the happy mood we have going here, but did you bury my body already?”
Celestia’s face grew a bit dark again. “We put it into stasis to prevent any sort of decay and have held it for you to decide what to do with it. We were unsure ourselves what to do since this is such a strange situation.”
I slowly began lowering myself out of the chair, kneeling on the floor. “Sounds good, just give me a minute and we’ll go to it.” I began to concentrate and soon I was a tall, healthy alicorn again. Celestia looked amazed. I had forgotten she hadn’t seen me like this before, and may have thought I couldn’t transform due my body being in my alicorn form.
As I stood and shook my mane out, though, I noticed a soft light coming from my flanks. I turned and saw that where my cutie mark should have been there was a spot that was shimmering with a golden light. Right before my eyes, I saw my Cutie Mark form. It looked just like the amulet Ben had given me, except it was colored. The moon was a soft yellow, the sword’s blade was a normal silver, and the hilt was a midnight blue. It looked like it would have been considered a complicated cutie mark, but it was nice. It felt good not to be a blank flank, even though I hadn’t been one for long.
Celestia recovered and began to smile. “It is a fitting Cutie Mark, from what my sister has told me. You are a very deserving pony. You may not be royalty, but you are certainly a hero. You died in protecting a place you never truly knew before that week, and very nearly did again after passing out. The doctors were unsure of how to treat you.”
Nodding a little, I mentioned, “Not to be a stickler or boaster, but there was technically that time where I was hit with the Elements of Harmony too.”
“You were what?” she asked, glaring at Luna.
Looking embarrassed, Luna said, “Oh, did we not tell you about that before? That was how he acquired enough magic to transform fully.”
“No, you left that part out and told me he acquired the power through being so closely interactive with Twilight and the others!”
Stepping between them, I could hardly talk for laughing so hard. “Yes, Celestia, I got hit with the Elements when I allowed the Nightmare Moon Spawn to try and take me over so that they would have a clear shot and a solid target. That’s not important though. I believe we were going to see what I look like dead? Everything will be explained in full, but later.”
As we began to walk to my old room, where it was apparently being stored, Luna whispered to me, “We weren’t going to tell her about that. We thought it better she didn’t know that particular detail. She gets sensitive about innocents being involved in the use of the Elements.”
“Well, she would have found out later by talking to Twilight,” I reminded her. “And besides, did you see the look on her face? That was priceless! I wish I had a camera for that! Please tell me there was a security camera in that room.”
While Luna rolled her eyes, Celestia cleared her throat as if to say ‘I can still hear you.’ I apologized quickly, and then changed the subject. “So, I was really out for a week?”
Luna looked at me worriedly and said, “Yes, and we were beginning to think that something was far more wrong than we had thought.”
Laughing triumphantly, I looked back to Celestia. “See? I had plenty of sleep!”
Laughing a little herself, she said, “Yes, and you were still unable to stand.”
“Yeah, well, that was probably due to stress induced micro-fractures from being knocked around so much. They fix themselves whenever I go through the change.”
It was then that we got to the door. Upon entering, I saw that Celestia had been telling the truth. It looked like it was just frozen in dark blue ice. It had been positioned to look like it had been standing when I died, but the illusion was ruined by the sight of my right front leg. Looking at it, when I came back to life my deformity was just that I didn’t heal much, except for the burn marks. My leg was just a skeletal limb, and a large part of my chest was blown open as well. That was the only heavily damaged portion that had healed. I circled the ‘statue’, not knowing what to make of it. I already knew what I wanted to do with it though.
“Where is Nightmare Moon’s body?” I asked.
Celestia looked at me like it was a stupid question. “It was buried a good distance from here. She wasn’t going to be buried in the royal cemetery, and we wouldn’t defile it at all, so we chose a distant point and buried her there.”
“Then I’m going to be buried there too,” I declared.
“What?” Luna cried. “After everything she did to you? To us?! Why on Equestria would you want to have your body be buried with her?!”
“Because, Princess,” I said calmly, wrapping a wing around her. “Think about her and who she is? She originally developed within you because you felt alone and unloved, right?” Luna only nodded sadly. “Then she should have a friend in death, since she never did in life. If I could, I would ask that she be moved here and be re-buried, but I don’t think that Tia would want that. Someplace on a hill, where she can see the meadows during both the day and the night. To help her understand.”
I could hear sniffling on both sides of me, and I saw both princesses were trying not to cry. Celestia spoke almost in a whimper. “That’s… what we will do then. We will find an area you like, and we can raise a hill there. The two of you will be laid to rest on top of the hill, and with luck she, wherever she may be, will recognize the beauty that comes with the day and the night, and of having a friend.”
Luna buried her face into my mane, still sobbing quietly. “It’s so much more than she deserves.”
“Yes, but if we got what we deserved, I would never have met you, my princess,” I said, smiling down at her. “Now come on. Let’s all go get ice cream. Will that make you feel better? A little ice cream?” Both princesses nodded. “All right then. Let’s go get some ice cream.”
We all left the room quietly, leaving our fears encased in the crystal that stood there.


…

I buried myself and my foe on a sunny day. Morbid as it is, I insisted that I help. I was the one to thaw my body, and I dug the graves. It was strange, seeing myself put into a grave and covered, but it was ok. I knew that because of what I learned in that body, I could more fully appreciate what I had in this body. I went through the ceremony as an alicorn; why, I don’t know. After we were done, I did one last thing for us. I planted a chokecherry seed I had bought from Daisy in Ponyville in between the parallel graves and gave it a boost with a growing spell I learned from Twilight. Staying strong with the symbolism theme, it was like redemption for her. Now instead of working against everyone, she worked with a friend to support a life, rather than take one.
Everyone was there, pretty much. The Elements of Harmony were there, all cleaned up from the journey. Most just came as they were, AJ wearing her battered old hat, Fluttershy trying to make herself as small as possible, etcetera. Rarity wore a hoof made black veil and mourner’s clothes. Shining Armor was there too, wearing his ceremonial armor. No one left dry-eyed, including me. I was more shaken over burying myself than I was willing to admit. Luna and I went back to the castle right away, Celestia taking over some of the details for us. We ate a quiet dinner in the privacy of my room, still intact from the battle, and talked about everything that had happened. The most exciting part was when I realized I could disconnect my skeletal arm and continue to use it, but Luna made me put it back on before I could do anything fun, like make it walk down the hall past the guards.
As the evening grew to a close, we were a little depressed. With everything that had happened, it was understandable. After dinner, we sat around for a little while, just resting. After a while, I looked over and grinned like a goofball.

“Wanna play ‘Smash Ponies’?”

> Epilogue: Visiting an Old Friend
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	It’s been a month since the reburial of Nightmare Moon. I’ve been busy since then, arranging things with Celestia for me to have a permanent room in the Night Wing, helping reconstruct the roof, and explaining why I was deformed, winged, and in love with a pony to my parents at home, not to mention my friends and professors. Thanks to the time travel capabilities of the Element of Life, I’ve managed to keep up with the events of both worlds I call home, but there is one place I haven’t been back to yet.
Having finally gotten the hang of tossing my portal into existence (it’s harder than it sounds), I stepped easily into the Crossroads. I was a human at the time, wearing the amulet, the knife, and some clothes Rarity had made for me. Most of what I wore now was made by her, especially since she was the only seamstress I knew who really had the knack of making wing-holes in shirts. I’d bring some to her to be altered, but most of what she made was better quality and cheaper anyways. All I really bought that was human-made anymore was underwear and shoes.
Anyways, I went back to the Crossroads. The orange glow of the ditches was uplifting, almost. Especially since I was able to be here and still be alive. Ben was right where I had left him, sitting on his bench. This time he was carving a mask that looked like a skull out of a giant scale. I guess he just went from project to project, having so much spare time and all. He was really good at it too. For my only having been gone for a month, he was pretty far along in the rough details.
My portal had appeared right where I had arrived last time, in the clearing where there were a few streetlights. I approached him just like I had last time, slowly, like I was dead and didn’t know where I was. He knew everything that went on in his realm, though, and as I got closer he said, “Hey, there. Kudos on killing Nightmare Moon.”
I sat down next to him with a sigh. Oddly enough, my spot still felt warm. “Yeah, I did all right. Would have been nice to know that she couldn’t be hurt by the sword as she was, though.”
He kept working at his carving. “Yeah, but if I had told you that, it would have been cheating, now wouldn’t it?”
“I think one more broken rule wouldn’t have made much of a difference at that point.”
He chuckled a little bit. “You’d be surprised, kid.”
I gave him an odd look. “You know, my name isn’t kid.”
He flicked a particularly large piece of scale off his mask and said, “Yeah, but you’ve gone through this whole story without mentioning your name once. I figure I’ll let you keep it up.”
I shrugged. “Fair enough.” I looked at his mask. “You must spend a lot of time carving. Those are really good.”
He hummed indecisively. “Yeah, they’re decent. They should be though. Back on Earth that was my job, you know. I was a wood worker. I made masks and bits of precious for people. Did some rings, too, but they were never my best works.”
“So that’s where you were from originally? Old time Earth?” I asked, leaning forward in my seat.
“Yeah, that’s where I first called home. My story was actually a lot like yours. I was accidentally brought to Equestria and turned out to be somebody. My pony name has long been forgotten by the history books, though. At least I’m fairly sure. I don’t even clearly remember what I did. The biggest difference between you and me is that you are an alicorn, giving you some amount of their magical immortality, even in human form. I was just a unicorn. Don’t get me wrong, I was damn powerful, and could probably even give Twilight Sparkle a run for her money. I don’t know what she’s studied, though. Probably a little of everything. She does live in a library after all.”
I pulled an apple out of my pocket and began to peel it with my own bone knife. “Which reminds me, how’d you know so much about everyone? I realize that your death and you know about pretty much everyone, but I really figured that you would just know the basics, like our name, our cause of death, and if we were a good person or not. Yet you know a lot of little details, like Twi living in the library.”
“Well, I don’t just get the basic details. I also get little flashes into the lives of some ponies. And people. Never anything really solid, but just bits like hometowns and stuff.”
I cut a long strand of peel off the apple. “Huh. By the way, you got a trash can?”
He carelessly gestured with his knife toward the ground. “Just throw it anywhere. It gets zapped up to the surface and the nutrients in it get sent to needy plants. It’s how those plants that need to water every day but forget about live so long. They get the occasional boost from food scraps down here.”
I threw the peel on the ground and watched it shrivel into dust. “Wow. Pretty neat.”
He gave a grunt. “We’re a green company.”
I cut a piece off the apple and took a bite. “You know, you also didn’t tell me this only kills on contact when you want it to.”
He looked at me like I was lying. “How did you figure that out?”
I grinned a little and said, “I dropped in onto my foot when I was shaving the bark off of a log. I took Luna camping on Earth.”
He gave an insinuating chuckle. “Oh, ho. Did you now? You sly boots. Where’d you go?”
I took another bite and talked around the apple. “We went up to a place back home in Alaska, in the interior. Nice spot. Clearing on a little plateau, it looks over the forest. She got a kick out of it.”
“Alaska? Well, hell, that’s why you’re a tough little shit. You really grew up in that hellhole?”
I nodded. “Yep, and loved every minute. The cold was better than the humidity and heat to me. And I loved the forests and mountains over the sand and the sun. Didn’t make me tough, though. I faked all that as the opportunity came.”
“No way, bro. You took a full on blast from the Elements of Harmony, then drastically anatomically changed, then stood right up and faced Nightmare Moon. Ain’t no way a man can fake being that tough. Trust me. A lot of people tried to. They were the ones who were willing to give up a worlds worth of life to go party for a while. You’re probably tired of being talked up as a hero by now, but that really is something to be proud of.”
I threw the apple core onto the ground and leaned back, wiping the knife on my pant leg. “I guess. I just wish there had been another way to beat her besides killing her. At least, one that wouldn’t have put anyone else in danger.”
He chuckled a little bit again. “Well, maybe you did the right thing.”
I looked at him sideways. “I really hope you didn’t get some kind of sick satisfaction out of finally having her down here.”
He shook his head. “No, no, even better.” He put his hand into his hood, I guess where is mouth was, and let out a shrill whistle. Not thirty seconds later, Nightmare Moon came soaring out of one or the forks in the road, landing with a little jot to slow herself down.
My hand immediately went to my knife, which I had put back in its sheath, when she took a step back, smiled, and shook her head. “I’m not here to kill or even attack you. I’m here to apologize and thank you.” I was stunned. This was not the monster that I had fought a month ago. As if she had read my mind, she nodded and took a small step forward. “That’s right, I’ve changed. And to be honest, it wasn’t your killing me that did it. If I had been able to get out for that week, I would have gladly ground you into the dirt. It was what you did a week later.
“Burying me somewhere nice, and demanding that your body be laid with mine. Burying yourself must have been impossibly difficult, but turning it into a peace offering and a sign of forgiveness towards the pony who actually killed you without remorse? That is the truest showing of love for all creatures that I ever witnessed, even from the eyes of Princess Luna as her sister banished the one she loved most to end a kingdoms suffering. Obviously, change is not simply that easy, but I have been working to change my ways since I’ve been down here. Believe it or not, there is suffering even here in a land of peace. Helping to alleviate it is the last chance I have at any kind of redemption, and I have taken the most of it.”
I was dumbstruck. This was too weird to be possible. Well, it should have been. But I believed her. The light in her eyes had changed, and the evil that had been there was greatly weakened since the last time I had seen her. I had to give her this chance. And besides, she was dead. As she was, she couldn’t hurt me anyways. I stood and slowly walked towards her.
She made sure to stay still as I approached so that I wouldn’t get nervous. I stood directly in front of her and looked into her eyes again to be sure I was seeing the truth. I was. She really was reforming. She smiled quietly, and it was a pure smile. I couldn’t say anything for a moment. I just wrapped my arms around her, giving her a caring, knowing hug. Once I could talk, all I said was, “I’m so proud of you. You’ve grown so much in a month, and in all the right ways.”
She sniffled a little bit and after another few moments pulled back. She rolled her eyes a little, looking remarkably like Luna for a moment, and said, “Yeah. Thanks dad.”
All three of us laughed a good long time after that. After talking for a couple more minutes, Nightmare Moon flew off to visit a friend. The last thing she said as she disappeared into the darkness was, “Tell Luna I said ‘Hi’ and ‘Thank you’!”
I went back and sat back down next to Ben. This time I knew, my spot was still warm, and it should have cooled off. It just trapped any residual butt heat. Leaning back on the bench I looked up to the ‘sky’ above me and sighed. “It’s a great thing, isn’t it? Seeing someone who was that bad grow up that much?” I just nodded. He kept working on his mask for a while, and we sat enjoying the silence and the feeling of each other’s company. With a groan that made him sound like an old man who had been sitting too long, he reached under his seat and pulled out another white shell, just waiting to be turned into a mask. “You got a little time to kill?”









Authors Note: I freely admit, I’m a sucker for a happy ending, and I would like to think Nightmare Moon could have learned compassion. This is the end of the story, but I’m leaving it marked as incomplete because I may go back to flesh out the beginning and give him more background. But for all story line intents and purposes, it’s complete. Thanks for all your support during this learning period!