New Family

by awesomesauce4

Rating: teen
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Romance, Adventure, King Sombra, Queen Chrysalis, Human, Nightmare Moon, Tirek, Original Character
Length: 143934

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

Jeremy has survived the nightmarish hell that was Tartarus, the prison of all deemed too evil to roam the surface world. He has broken the Harmony Barrier, freeing his four new friends from the prison, and they have escaped to live their lives on the surface. Happily ever after, right?

...Not really.

The game isn't over yet.

(Ask the characters questions here! Password is 'crystal'.)

Published 2016-03-07 03:40:01 UTC
Last updated 2018-04-20 17:29:37 UTC

Chapter 2

The next ‘morning,’ Jeremy and Chrysalis woke up to find that they were entwined in each other’s arms.

“Oh, hey,” Jeremy greeted, laughing, and Chrysalis flinched away, grimacing.

“What’s with your breath?” she complained.

Jeremy chuckled, politely directing his breathing off to the side. “It’s called morning breath, it’s pretty common. I haven’t paid much attention to hygiene lately, on account of… well, being in Tartarus,” he noted.

Chrysalis smiled mysteriously. “Wait until you see what’s outside,” she teased. Curious, Jeremy put on his sweater and jeans, following her outside to the corridor.

She led him to a portal just across from her room, which Jeremy was sure hadn’t existed before. To his shock, he found all the comforts of a modern bathroom, carved out of gray stone and metal. Jeremy tested the sink, and was surprised to find it had running water.

“How’d you do this in one night?” he asked incredulously, staring around at all the modern conveniences.

“Actually, we were working on this for a while longer,” Chrysalis answered. “This room used to be an old King’s bathroom, because he was the only one who needed to… well, wash. Everything else was copied from what we saw of the Canterlot palace, because… well… I thought it was luxurious, so I wanted it,” Chrysalis admitted. “Nightmare Moon helped last night as well, she had you dream about your life back home and took a bunch of stuff that she thought you might need out of the dream.”

Jeremy put a hand to his chin in thought. “That explains my weird dreams, I guess. Well… we should build more of these, so that everyone can enjoy them,” he noted. “But for now… this is amazing! Thank you so much,” he complimented, beaming.

Chrysalis blushed. “It’s the least I can do, honestly,” she replied, smiling back.

After Jeremy had showered, brushed his teeth, and made himself as clean as he could possibly be, he rejoined Chrysalis in the hallway and they set off for the throne room. As Jeremy looked around at the teal-blue, shifting walls, he was greeted by a sense of belonging, of home. It was such a contrast to how he had felt just a day ago that he wondered if the crown on his head was influencing his thoughts.

They took their places at the throne, the changeling guards saluting as normal before Chrysalis took a seat on Jeremy’s lap. They sat there for a moment.

“So… what exactly do we do?” Jeremy asked.

A changeling guard stifled a snicker, and was quickly elbowed by another one.

Chrysalis giggled cutely. “Honestly, I, um… I don’t really know. Celestia and Luna typically answer petitions of some sort while they sit on their thrones, but, um… we can just answer those mentally, and there’s really not all that many ‘petitions’ to begin with, because of the whole ‘hive mind’ thing, so…”

Jeremy thought hard. “Okay… um… where are the others?” he wondered.

“They’re heading here now, they just had breakfast,” Chrysalis answered.

“What about you, when’s the last time you fed?” Jeremy worried, looking her over.

“Honey, I fed off of you this morning,” Chrysalis dismissed. “I won’t need to feed again for a while.”

Jeremy sighed, but let it go. She knew her own body better than he did, after all.

Tirek, Sombra, and Nightmare Moon walked into the room a moment later, and Sombra smirked as he saw Jeremy lounging about on his throne.

“Sit up straight, you degenerate layabout,” Sombra ribbed. “Are you a King or not?”

Jeremy laughed, unconsciously adjusting his poise. “I’m pretty sure I’m a degenerate, layabout King, but if you say so,” he joked back.

“So, didst thee need us for something? A Guard mentioned thou asking after us,” Nightmare Moon inquired.

“Yeah, as a matter of fact, I did,” Jeremy answered, Chrysalis looking up at him curiously. “I need help writing down a series of laws… like a bill of rights, or a constitution or something. Something that gives changelings the ability to overthrow or usurp their King if he infringes on their basic rights. Also for like, finances and policing and that sort of thing.” Most of the changelings in the room were looking at him strangely.

“But… why?” Chrysalis asked. “We don’t really… need laws. We’re not autonomous, like you… well, like you were,” she remarked.

Jeremy was mostly thinking of the crime rates and political scandals back home, and how he had always wanted to do something in order to fix them. Political corruption was nothing new to him, and neither were things like arson, mass murder, theft, rape, or torture. He wanted to make very certain that the evils of humanity would never infect his new home in any way.

“We don’t really need to be policed, because every changeling is already aware at least on some level of what every other changeling is doing. All things belong to the Hive, so there’s no such thing as ‘theft’ either. ‘Torture’ would imply that we were torturing one of our own… which I used to do as punishment for failing. It didn’t really matter to me, because I could just revive the drone whenever necessary via the hive mind, but… I won’t ever do that anymore, not after what we’ve been through. As for… the other thing…” Chrysalis paused a moment to shudder. “I think we won’t have to worry about that either.”

Jeremy mulled over this for a moment, then sighed. “I just… I don’t like the thought of some future King being able to abuse their power like the last one did. Most of the systems of government back home relied on a system of checks and balances so that no one group became too powerful, but… maybe that doesn’t apply here? Because everyone back home was autonomous,” he posited.

Nightmare Moon nodded. “If thou art speaking of accepted systems of rule, we art compelled to note that many insects share much the same methods as our Queen here, and enjoy a nearly crime-less system as a result.”

Sombra snorted. “I wasn’t going to make the insect comparison… out loud,” he teased.

Nightmare Moon blushed as she realized her faux pas. “Oh, we… we didst not mean…” she trailed off.

“Don’t worry, we’ve heard it all before,” Chrysalis sighed.

“That’s the price of autonomy, huh?” Jeremy mused.

“It would seem so,” Chrysalis agreed. “At any rate, there does exist a check to the King’s power. Under ordinary circumstances, the Queen can banish them from the hive mind, thus restoring balance if they became too powerful. But I… I was weak,” Chrysalis admitted, ears drooping down.

“Not anymore,” Jeremy immediately comforted. “You’re stronger than you know.”

Chrysalis smiled, but said nothing.

“Okay, so I guess that takes care of government. But what about finance? If we are to become a major political player in the world, we have to have something that the rest of the world wants. It could be minerals or ores, it could be knowledge – and it often is knowledge, or it could be technology. Or maybe even something else,” Jeremy mused.

Tirek raised an eyebrow. “That’s… rather smart,” he noted. “Who did you learn economics from?”

Jeremy snorted. “I learned the bare basics from my history classes, and a few things I picked up on the side. I never paid much attention to the intricacies of tax law, for example.”

Chrysalis raised an eyebrow. “What’s a ‘tax?’” she asked.

All four of them looked at her.

“…How dost thou not know what a tax is?” Nightmare Moon inquired, sounding as though she were about to laugh.

“Next you’ll be saying you don’t know what money is,” Sombra mocked, chuckling.

“I do! It’s… uh… that thing ponies really like!” Chrysalis defended, embarrassed.

Nightmare Moon and Sombra burst out laughing, and Jeremy stared at them, unamused.

“…Anyway, money is a system of bartering for goods and services,” he explained to Chrysalis. “Say you want something someone else has. In earlier times, you would trade something of equal value. But the equal-value thing might be heavy, or otherwise unsuited to being carried around and traded. So a stand-in is used in the form of money. Everything tradeable is now defined by its worth in a currency, or type of money. Money is usually made to be very small, and easy to carry, so you can go out and get things without having to carry other, heavy things in return,” Jeremy explained.

“More or less,” Nightmare Moon agreed.

“Okay… so then what’s a tax?” Chrysalis asked.

“Taxes are when the government demands money from its citizens to pay for stuff. It can get pretty complicated, but the general gist is that the government uses the money to buy or make things to protect or improve the citizens’ lives.”

Chrysalis raised an eyebrow. “Couldn’t the citizens just go out and do that themselves?” she asked.

Jeremy shook his head. “Not always. Remember, they’re autonomous, and often that means dealing with much more complicated social stuff than a single hive mind. They might not have the time, they might not have enough money to do it themselves, and so on. So the government does it for them. Though… I guess taxes wouldn’t apply in a hive mind either? Because there’s no such thing as individual possessions…”

Jeremy took a moment to think, and realized that he may, in fact, have just become the king of a communist nation. How odd.

“Taxes only make sense if there are things the King and Queen need money for that the individuals don’t,” Tirek added. “If, as seems to be the case, the King and Queen of the Hive own all the property in the Hive, then that means there is nothing they can tax, and the issue becomes moot.”

Jeremy accepted this reasoning with a nod. “Okay… no tax laws either. Interesting… I guess the only remaining thing is exports and imports?”

Sombra nodded. “Chrysalis, do you own or know of any sources of crystals or mines nearby?” the shadow king asked.

Chrysalis hesitantly nodded. “There are a few dragon hoards that have been abandoned nearby our hive, once we made our presence clear. What can they be traded for?” she asked.

“I would go for information, specifically that of engineering and science. On my planet, the richest and most powerful nations became so because they relentlessly pursued innovations that everybody immediately wanted,” Jeremy noted.

“Innovation is useless without materials,” Sombra countered.

“Perhaps a balance of both?” Nightmare Moon suggested.

“Works for me. Uh… is there anything else about government I haven’t covered yet?” Jeremy asked, looking at Nightmare Moon and Sombra.

“You forgot the part where you declare yourself King for life, make yourself immortal, and remove the system of checks and balances,” Sombra suggested.

“Sombra…” Nightmare Moon trailed off, annoyed.

“What? He asked,” Sombra retorted.

Jeremy chuckled. “To be fair, I did. So, uh… what now?” he asked.

“Hmm… Wanna see something interesting?” Chrysalis suggested.

“Sure,” Jeremy answered, getting up and stretching.

“I would ask the rest of you not follow us. The location I am about to go to must be kept private,” Chrysalis explained to the other three.

“More waiting and doing nothing, then. Can do,” Sombra grumbled as the pair of them exited the room.

“Thank you, we’ll make it up to you!” Jeremy called.

Chrysalis led him through yet another series of portals, and Jeremy sighed as he once again tried and failed to chart just where in the Hive they were.

“Is there some kind of map of this place?” he complained. “If it weren’t for you, I’d be lost. I don’t know how the others manage.”

Chrysalis laughed. “They don’t move around too much… and I have a pair of my guards follow them around in case they get lost.”

Jeremy nodded appreciatively. “Fair enough…” he sighed, still looking around.

Chrysalis looked at him sympathetically. “Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it eventually.” Jeremy hummed in thought, and said nothing more.

Finally, Chrysalis came to a corridor with no other opening portals, heading straight for the end. She approached the wall with no signs of slowing down, and Jeremy held out a hand as if to stop her.

“Hey, wait-“ he called, but it was too late – she had already hit the wall.

To his surprise, she kept right on going, walking through it as though it wasn’t there. Jeremy stood alone in the empty corridor for a moment, then cautiously stuck a hand through the false wall. It didn’t feel like much of anything, so he walked through it as well.

To his surprise, the area beyond the wall was completely different. The whole, poorly lit place was padded with some kind of bluish-gray foam, cushioning every square inch. Eggs were strewn about, nestled in crevices and corners or simply laying out in the open. Drones passed between each egg, holding it close as a white light emanated from their chests – love, Jeremy presumed.

“Is this… a nursery?” he asked quietly, looking around.

“A hatchery,” Chrysalis corrected. “After I finish laying all these eggs, the drones tend to them, making sure they get enough love to grow properly. It’s one of the most important jobs in the Hive, and I tend to hoof-pick drones from the nursery who have proven their skills.” Jeremy nodded in fascination, stooping down to examine an egg. It was a dark yellow in coloration, with brown lines reminiscent of veins strewn about the surface.

“You laid this?” Jeremy queried. “It’s as big as your head!”

Chrysalis chuckled. “I’m a shapeshifter. I can just change size to make it easier,” she explained. Jeremy accepted this with an uncertain shrug, puzzling over changeling biology.

“Anyway, the interesting thing I wanted to show you is just how well this place is doing. Before yesterday… the eggs were barely getting enough, and they were the most well-fed changelings in the entire Hive,” Chrysalis explained.

Jeremy sympathetically looked over at an egg. Was it just his imagination, or did it look slightly… deflated?

“But now that all that love from the former King has returned to us… we have more than enough,” Chrysalis whispered. “We won’t be hungry for a very long time.”

Jeremy stooped down and hugged her, and she returned it, smooching him on the cheek as she giggled. “So, would you like to see the nursery?” Chrysalis asked, already heading over to a nearby portal.

“Of course,” Jeremy answered enthusiastically. “I’ve always wanted to see what a baby changeling looks like!”

The nursery, in contrast to the hatchery, was well-lit, a massive glowing green pustule decorating the ceiling and bathing the entire house-sized cave in vivid green light.

“Wow. It’s bright in here,” Jeremy noticed, grimacing.

Chrysalis nodded. “It’s to train changeling eyes to withstand the surface light. We keep the hatchery dark, as light harms the growth of the eggs, but as soon as they hatch, they are taken here so they can adapt.”

Jeremy nodded in fascination, gazing around at the room. It seemed like a cross between a home and a school – some drones were feeding the young, as in the hatchery, while others seemed to be instructing the tinier ones on some sort of subject. Jeremy listened in on one drone, who appeared to be instructing a group of changelings barely a foot tall each on the basics of transformation.

“…Concentrate, hold the image in your mind. You don’t need to see it perfectly, just enough to feel like it. You must become whatever you transform into, in mind and body,” the drone instructed, shifting into one of them to prove its point.

One of the little ones scrunched up its face, concentrating hard, and a flicker of green flame appeared at the tip of its horn, snuffed out a moment later.

“Not bad,” the drone allowed, transforming back to its normal form effortlessly. “But you must concentrate harder. Oh – your Majesties!” they noticed, bowing as they caught sight of Chrysalis and Jeremy.

“My loyal Ocelli. How are the drones?” Chrysalis asked, surveying them.

“My Queen, they are coming along most adequately,” the drone immediately answered. “I expect within the week, they’ll be able to… my King?” Ocelli asked curiously, looking over. Chrysalis looked over as well, to find Jeremy hugging all five of the little changelings, a smile on his face.

“Sorry, couldn’t help it,” he explained. “They were too cute.”

Chrysalis slapped a hoof to her forehead, grinning, and Ocelli smiled as well. More changeling babies began to appear, literally crawling out of the walls as they apparently sought out the nearby source of love. Very quickly, Jeremy was literally covered in a pile of cute, cuddly changeling babies, hissing and licking his face as he giggled uncontrollably.

“Don’t worry, I’ll get you out of there,” Chrysalis instructed worriedly, preparing to issue a mental command, but Jeremy held up a hand.

“Why? This is the opposite of a problem!” he laughed, by now completely buried. Chrysalis looked at him strangely, but sighed and watched, as the nursery drones gathered around them.

“Why is every single wriggler in the nursery in that pile?” one asked another.

“The new King is under there,” Chrysalis answered exasperatedly.

“Is he okay?” the drone worried.

Chrysalis sighed. “He appears to be having fun.”

A while later, the small army of baby changelings stumbled away from him, bellies swollen and content, dreamy smiles on their faces. Jeremy, who was red in the face from laughing so hard, slowly got to his feet, feeling dizzy.

“You okay?” Chrysalis asked, noticing his complexion.

“I don’t think I’ve laughed that hard in my life,” Jeremy answered, still grinning as he wiped a bit of sweat from his brow.

Chrysalis smiled at him. “So… you really think they’re cute? Ponies thought they were… ‘creepy,’” she muttered.

Jeremy immediately looked offended. “Creepy? They’re adorable! Ponies must be blind if they can’t see that amount of cuteness!” he proclaimed, to the giggles of the surrounding nurses. Chrysalis chuckled as well, supporting him with her body as he shook off his earlier mirth.

“Anyway… wow. That was amazing!” Jeremy gushed, now that they were outside the door.

Chrysalis laughed joyfully, a few nearby changelings looking over in amazement as she smiled back. “Right? I just… I’ve never seen them so happy. And it makes me happy! I… watching them play, and laugh, I just…” Chrysalis trailed off, her genuine smile slowly turning to a guilty smile. “I almost feel as if… this is all just a beautiful dream, and I’m going to wake up one day, back in my cell,” she admitted.

“Huh?” Jeremy replied, taken aback by her sudden mood shift.

“I… don’t feel like I deserve this. I thought for so long that I was a monster, that I'd live out my life being hated by everyone. But… is it really this easy? To turn it all around? It seems… fake,” she explained.

Jeremy didn’t know what to say for a moment, then mentally slapped himself as he realized she was waiting on his response. “I… well, for starters, it’s real,” he countered lamely, and Chrysalis sighed, stopping their movement forward to take a seat by one of the shifting walls. “I mean… ugh, I’m not saying this right! What I’m trying to say is, you totally deserve this! Just because you think you’re not worth it doesn’t mean the rest of us do!” he tried, pulling her into a hug.

“Uh-huh,” Chrysalis replied, sounding unconvinced.

“Just… I know it’s all so new and confusing and surreal. It’s like that for me too, honestly. But… I’m going to do my best to show you that this is real, and you do deserve it, and it’s going to be great,” Jeremy finished, a small smile on his face.

Chrysalis looked at him and sighed, a reluctant grin coming to her face. “I still don’t believe you… but okay,” Chrysalis conceded. Jeremy picked her up, surprising her as he hugged her to his chest. He tried carrying her a few steps, and was surprised to find that she weighed almost nothing. She must have a very strong exoskeleton, Jeremy mused, smiling down at her.

They returned to the throne room, where Nightmare Moon, Sombra and Tirek had been waiting. Tirek was being fanned by two changelings, who had somehow obtained giant leaves to use as fans, and eating a cluster of grapes as he relaxed on the ground. Jeremy looked at him sternly, and Tirek laughed.

“What? Chrysalis said it was fine,” the centaur retorted.

“Get your own servants, Tirek,” Jeremy shot back with a grin, and Tirek laughed as he stood up, the two drones lowering the fans in relief.

“So, how was that thing that you couldn’t show us?” Sombra snarked.

“It was absolutely incredible,” Jeremy answered, gazing off into the distance with a dreamy look in his eye. “So cute.”

Chrysalis giggled. “We visited the secret hatchery,” she explained.

“Ah. Doth thee not trust us with its location?” Nightmare Moon inquired, a lopsided frown coming to her face.

Chrysalis sighed slowly. “It’s a very old law that only the Queen, King, and a rare few of the drones get to know precisely where it is. It’s not out of any insult to you three, I’m just trying to follow the ancient laws. For once,” she grumbled.

“Hmm,” Nightmare Moon answered, seemingly unconvinced, and Jeremy looked at her sharply.

“…Anyway, anything new with you three?” he asked after a moment.

“Nope. Been resting, mostly. Speaking of which, I’m beginning to get bored. Not that being on the surface isn’t great and all, but can’t we go out and do something?” Tirek complained.

“Not much to do around here, the Hive’s situated in the middle of a wasteland,” Chrysalis answered.

“I suppose if we really wanted to, we could go up north to Appleloosa and… well, I guess we can’t terrorize them,” Chrysalis noted, looking at Jeremy.

Jeremy shook his head. “Where are we, in Equestria?” he asked.

“The far southern point of the continent,” Chrysalis immediately answered.

Jeremy thought hard, recalling the maps of Equestria he’d seen. There wasn’t much to the south, unless you counted the swamps and the Badlands. “…Do you have any books, or anything in the Hive?” Jeremy asked. Chrysalis shook her head, and Jeremy looked sad. “How did any of you keep yourselves entertained?” he asked uncertainly.

Chrysalis snorted. “Entertainment wasn’t an issue. Not starving and not getting stomped on by the King were our problems.”

Jeremy immediately felt guilty for suggesting that they were boring. “Oh… sorry…” he trailed off.

Chrysalis smooched him on the cheek. “It’s okay. Now we can figure out this whole ‘fun’ thing, after all,” she added, and Jeremy gave her a slight smile.

“Well… hmm,” he thought out loud. “Does anyone here know how to carve stone?”

Instantly, at least ten pairs of hooves were raised in the air, including those of the Guards.

Jeremy looked around with a smile. “I think we can work something out,” he commented, smiling.

A few hours later, they were still sitting around the newly constructed game board, as far away from the throne room as they could get so that the others’ magic would work. Tirek was rattling the dice in his massive fists, eagerly leaning over the comparatively tiny board as he cast them.

“Two, five, five, four, three… you could go for a small straight,” Jeremy pointed out.

“I think I’ll try for a ‘Yahtzee,’ Tirek decided, grinning as he rolled them again.

“Another five… you’re gonna need two more,” Sombra murmured, watching intently as he clutched his score sheet with his hooves.

Tirek rolled once more, and crowed and whooped in delight as the two fives faced up. “Yahtzee!” Tirek announced, gleefully writing it down on his score sheet with the stick of charcoal he had been provided.

“Man, Tirek is destroying us at this game,” Jeremy quipped, looking over his own score sheet. Nightmare Moon grumbled, presumably still miffed that she had wasted six turns trying to roll a Yahtzee of her own.

“Don’t worry, everyone, I have a plan,” Chrysalis announced, and Tirek looked at her suspiciously.

Do you actually have a plan? Jeremy asked mentally.

Not in the slightest, Chrysalis answered, causing both Jeremy and the nearby changelings who were watching to suppress giggles. She rolled the dice, casually casting them out onto the playing board.

“Four ones. You can do it, Chryssi!” Jeremy cheered.

Chrysalis rolled the last die again, obtaining a three. “Come on…” Chrysalis muttered, rolling the offending die as hard as she could with her magic before letting it drop to the board below.

“One! Thou hast done it!” Nightmare Moon joyously announced.

“That puts her ahead of Tirek by three points… oh, this is getting close,” Jeremy commented, a devilish grin coming to his face.

“Last turn, everypony,” Nightmare Moon warned, checking over her own score sheet.

“Alright, let’s do this,” Jeremy muttered, rolling the dice with his hands.

“Two, four, four, five, one. Not much you can do with that…” Tirek noted.

Jeremy frowned. “We shall see about that,” he declared, picking up all except the fours and rerolling them.

“Another four. Art thou trying for a Yahtzee as well?” Nightmare Moon inquired.

Jeremy shook his head. “Just fours, this time. I still need to fill that section out.”

He rolled again, and managed to score one more four. “Okay, Nightmare Moon, your turn,” Jeremy announced, passing the dice to his left.

Nightmare Moon grasped them in her magic, rolling them halfheartedly before tossing them on the board.

“One more and you’d have a small straight, nice!” Jeremy complimented.

Nightmare Moon smiled, though it seemed to be strained for some reason. “Here’s hoping,” she muttered, rolling the two remaining die again. To her mild surprise, she managed to roll the small straight, and she marked it down with a small smile.

“Okay, Sombra, last turn,” Chrysalis informed him as Nightmare Moon passed the dice left to the shadow king.

Sombra took them in his magic, shaking them vigorously before throwing them down at the board.

“Two sixes, a three, a two, and a five,” Tirek noted. “You already have your straights, so… what will you do, Sombra?”

Sombra thought hard. “Well, I’m not going to win anyway, so I might as well take my scratch,” Sombra commented, passing the dice left to Tirek.

“Okay, very last turn of the game,” Jeremy announced eagerly.

“Come on…” Tirek muttered, rolling the dice as hard as he could.

“One, two two’s, a four, and a six. Not a whole lot to work with there…” Chrysalis noted.

“Just three more,” Tirek muttered, rolling the dice again.

“Ooh, no two’s. Come on, big guy,” Jeremy encouraged.

Tirek shook the dice for all he was worth, casting them onto the floor.

“Still no two’s. Tough luck…” Jeremy trailed off.

Tirek shrugged. “Eh, at least we got to kill some time. This was… surprisingly entertaining,” he admitted, scratching an ear.

“We must spread this game to Equestria at large!” Nightmare Moon added.

Jeremy grinned guiltily. “We… may run into some copyright issues if we try. Maybe later, if I can get back to Earth and ask for publishing rights or something,” Jeremy answered.

“Well… I’m tired. I’m going to head to bed,” Sombra declared. “...Good game, though,” he added as an afterthought, disappearing through the main doors.

“I might as well call it a night too,” Jeremy agreed, standing up and stretching.

“What should we do with the game?” Chrysalis wondered.

Jeremy shrugged. “Pass it around to the rest of the Hive, so they can try?” he suggested.

Chrysalis thought for a moment. “Perhaps the small ones could get some enjoyment out of it,” she added, and Jeremy brightened at the thought.

“Absolutely!” he agreed, and Chrysalis smiled, using her magic to teleport the game set away.

“Anyway… goodnight, everyone,” she announced, heading for the door.

“Good night,” Nightmare Moon and Tirek called back, and Jeremy followed her out with a “good night” of his own.

They snuggled together under the covers, Jeremy relaxing and leaning into her hair as Chrysalis’ breaths gently rippled across the blanket.

“Good night, babe. See you tomorrow,” Jeremy mumbled, kissing her on the forehead.

“See you tomorrow…” Chrysalis returned in a whisper, seemingly already half asleep. Jeremy closed his eyes, and slipped into the world of dreams.

Hours later, Jeremy fidgeted, tossing and turning. Something was wrong, he knew that much even while asleep, but what? Finally, he opened his eyes, looking around.

“Chrysalis?” he whispered, feeling around the sheets.

She wasn’t there.

Worried, he hurriedly got out of bed, turning on the lamp to put on his sweater and crown before making his way outside.

He felt somehow drawn to her, as though he knew subconsciously exactly where she was. As well he might, Jeremy mused. After all, his crown apparently had some pretty serious psychic abilities built into it. He moved upward, towards the top of the Hive, a place he had never visited before.

Finally, as he moved through a portal, a rush of cold air greeted his face, the wind whipping around his sweater. This area had clearly used to be a cave, but was now destroyed, only rubble and debris remaining where the walls and ceiling used to be.

“Chrysalis?” he called out.

“Over here,” she answered quietly.

Jeremy spotted her, in the center of the clearing, sitting on what looked like a very damaged and stunted outcropping of rock. He moved to join her, gazing up at the stars above.

“Sorry, I just…” Chrysalis trailed off.

“Do you need some space?” Jeremy offered.

Chrysalis looked frustrated. “I… No. I don’t. I should have warned you. I just… came up here, to think about things. This… used to be my throne. I put it all the way up here, as far from… him as possible. Then, some things happened, and it… exploded.”

Jeremy quirked his mouth up in a smile. “Some things being Starlight Glimmer and a particularly large rock?” he teased. Chrysalis looked at him in shock, before settling on a smile.

“Right, right. I forgot, we’re fictional characters. And for your information, it was a drone named Thorax that actually exploded the throne.”

Jeremy gazed off into the distance. “What are we going to do about Thorax and his changelings, anyway?” he wondered.

Chrysalis sighed. “Let’s… let’s not worry about that now,” she pleaded.

“Okay,” Jeremy conceded.

They spent what could have been minutes or hours there, gazing up at the stars, and wondering about their lives.

Chapter 3

A few days later, Jeremy and the others were calmly relaxing, laying on specially crafted stone slabs as drones massaged them.

“Well, I guess I can admit that this feels really nice,” Jeremy reluctantly spoke up as a drone rubbed the tension out of his back, chittering slightly to the others.

“See? You should allow us to do favors for you more often,” Chrysalis rebuked, sighing in satisfaction as two of her drones attended to her neck.

“Yeah…” Jeremy softly replied, obediently putting his head down again as they began to work on his collarbones. “I just hate it when others feel like they owe me for something. I don’t like the feeling of being… in power over them.”

Chrysalis laughed. “How on Earth did you ever get thrown into Tartarus with an attitude like that?” she teased, and Jeremy chuckled.

“How could you not enjoy this? This is the best I’ve felt in years!” Sombra chimed in, grinning as a drone uncomfortably kneaded his lower back.

Tirek merely grunted contently as a small army of drones attempted to massage his massive upper body, while Nightmare Moon remained silent as a drone gently rubbed her wing.

“So… what shall we do after this?” Chrysalis asked.

Jeremy made a noncommittal noise, attempting to shrug while laying down and failing valiantly. “Draw up some more engineering blueprints to sell?” he suggested.

Sombra groaned. “We’ve been drawing blueprints and playing board games for the past three days now!” he complained.

“Well…” Nightmare Moon trailed off.

“Hmm?” Jeremy inquired.

“We… we were just thinking… there was something we always wanted to do with th- with all of thee, once we achieved our goal of escaping to the surface,” the lunar alicorn spoke up.

“And that is?” Tirek asked, after a moment of silence.

“There is a special port, at the South Luna Ocean to our west. We visited when we were but a little filly… we wouldst like to take thee there,” Nightmare Moon explained, looking at him hopefully.

Jeremy looked at the others, who nodded.

“Then let’s go,” he agreed, and Nightmare Moon beamed.

A few minutes later, they were packed and ready to go. The drones had stuffed every available cubic inch of Jeremy’s bag with food, hugging him and wishing him and Chrysalis the best as they tried their best to hold back tears. Jeremy, who was openly crying, hugged them back, promising every single one of them that he and his friends would all return safely.

“Art thou ready?” Nightmare Moon asked, as he finally made it to the entrance to the Hive.

He gazed out at the sky, looking for the very first time at the Equestrian sun.

“Yeah,” Jeremy agreed. “I’m ready.”

They flew through the sky, laughing and whooping as the five of them enjoyed the feeling of the fresh, open air. Jeremy was atop Chrysalis’ back, while Nightmare Moon flew in circles around them as she led the group westward. Sombra, using his smoky form, darted to and fro just behind them, mostly looking down at the ground in some vague form of interest. Tirek, who appeared to be levitating by unspecified means, soared awkwardly through the sky, a metaphorical brick with wings compared to Nightmare Moon’s or even Chrysalis’ grace. Through it all, every one of them couldn’t stop looking up at the sky, at the sun which seemed to promise a brighter tomorrow every time they glanced at it. It was the first time the five of them had been truly outside together since Tartarus, and it had hit them all at the same time. They were free, free of the burden of being prisoners, of the desolate, hostile underground labyrinth they were once forced to call home. Winds buffeted them, sending Chrysalis reeling and Nightmare Moon into tailspins before they slowly recovered, still grinning. For Jeremy, it was the greatest feeling of his life. Up here, they no longer had to worry about what might creep out at every corner, or who might try to kill him next. He wasn’t even afraid of falling off of Chrysalis’ back – why would it matter? He would just SAVE over it, and it wouldn’t dampen his enjoyment in the slightest. If anything, he was considering doing it on purpose.

Hey! Chrysalis interrupted his train of thought indignantly.

Whaat? It was just a thought, Jeremy complained right back.

Don’t even think about stuff like that, she pouted.

Ah, fine, Jeremy dismissed obediently, leaning a little closer into her neck as they passed through a cloud.

To Jeremy’s surprise, the cloud was actually rather warm, like a spring rain on a sunny day. It was still wet, though, and the pair of them emerged from the other side soaked and laughing.

“I guess that takes care of my shower for the day!” Jeremy joked, shaking his head and causing a small spray of rain droplets to fall to the earth below.

“Think again, mister! You smell like rainwater now!” Chrysalis chided back, giggling as she shook herself off as well.

Nightmare Moon, watching them, was holding a hoof to her mouth in amusement, a grin hidden behind her hair. She looked strangely out of place during the daytime, her colors a vivid black and dark blue compared to the warm surroundings. Tirek merely rolled his eyes as usual, and Jeremy couldn’t quite make out Sombra’s expression.

“Come on, thou art going to miss it!” Nightmare Moon called out, pulling ahead of them.

Miss what? Chrysalis wondered.

Well, if we don’t hurry up, we’ll never find out, Jeremy pointed out. Chrysalis sped ahead, determined to catch up to Nightmare Moon.

They touched down at a small shore, hidden by trees. The sand was pure white, and there were no rocks or even hard pebbles. Just silky soft sand, trees all around them, and the quietly whispering waves. Without further ado, they ate the food they had packed, Chrysalis curling into Jeremy’s chest and inhaling his love as Jeremy in turn inhaled his sandwich. Once that was done, and the uneaten food had been neatly returned to their packs, Nightmare Moon turned to the shore, eyes gazing at the sun.

“Any moment now,” she murmured.

“What are we looking for?” Tirek wondered.

“Just wait,” Jeremy whispered, heart beating in anticipation of... something.

The sun, as though listening to their cue, slowly began its descent downward, still moving much faster than Jeremy thought it had a right to do. As it neared the horizon, it slowed, just for a few minutes, the light from its rays turning red and painting the world a shade of orange for a very brief sunset before the celestial body disappeared.

“Show-off,” Nightmare Moon muttered.

But, inevitably, the moon rose to take its place, and that was when they saw it.

A single shaft of moonlight, carefully structured by the clouds around the white sphere as it rose to its proper place in the night sky, touched down on their little beach. The crescent moon reflected off of the gently lapping water, curiously forming a twin image as Jeremy looked at it.

“Dost thou know what they call this beach?” Nightmare Moon began quietly. The other four waited with bated breath. “They call it the Heart of the Moon,” she continued, barely audible over the waves. “It was here that I was born, and here that I first found my sister.”

Jeremy looked around in shock. “You were born… here?” he asked.

Sombra appeared just as surprised, while Tirek simply raised an eyebrow as he took in the moonlit beach.

Nightmare Moon nodded. “From the tides, to be more precise. They say our birth was heralded by all the moonlight in the world collecting into this one spot, and… upon the shores washed up a small filly, as blue as the water she appeared from.” Jeremy listened intently. “Since then, we hath returned here, every year, on the day of our birth… or, at least, we did.”

Jeremy put an arm around her neck. “It’s such a beautiful place,” he whispered.

Nightmare Moon sniffed. “Thanks,” she murmured.

Tirek appeared to be mulling over something in the background, staring hard at the twin image of the crescent moon reflected onto the waves. The crescents were distorted by the angle, forming the shape of a heart.

“So, then… you weren’t born… naturally. You were… created,” Jeremy noted.

Nightmare Moon shrugged. “We cannot recall the moment of our birth, nor much of our foalhood. Perhaps we were merely birthed here, by some midwife whose name has been lost to time, and the legend was invented to give us a more mysterious air. Perhaps we really did come of seawater and moonlight. We shalt ne’er know for certain.”

Jeremy fell silent, contemplating this. This place must mean an incredible amount of things to Nightmare Moon, he mused. She mentioned she used to visit every year, and I bet she visited alone. Why bring us, then? “Hey, Nightmare Moon?” he spoke up after a moment.

“Yes?” she responded hesitantly.

“…Thank you for bringing us here. It must mean a lot to you, and… I’m glad I got to share it,” he remarked.

Nightmare Moon smiled, though there was a certain sadness in her eyes. “…Thou art quite welcome,” she softly murmured. “Though… when we first envisioned us here… t’was just the two of us,” she nearly whispered.

Chrysalis glared at her, and Sombra looked at her sharply, though Tirek seemed to be too lost in thought to pay much attention.

“…Oh,” Jeremy answered after a moment. He didn’t look back, but he knew, by the crunching of their hoofsteps, that the others had left. He and Nightmare Moon were sitting alone in the clearing, the moonlight shining down on them.

The two of them sat in silence for a moment, Jeremy wondering if it was meant to be an awkward silence or just a contemplative one. Finally, Nightmare Moon broke the silence.

“Jeremy?” she asked in a small voice.

“Yeah?” Jeremy softly replied.

“We… we hope thou wouldst not take this the wrong way, but…” Nightmare Moon began, swallowing nervously. Jeremy listened intently, but it seemed Nightmare Moon could not go on.

“You’re attracted to me,” Jeremy supplied.

Nightmare Moon reeled back, shocked, and Jeremy sighed. “I… I knew for a while. You kept putting out hints, and… I didn’t want any distractions from getting you all out of there. Declaring my love for one of you over the others might make the rest jealous, or something, which… I didn’t want to make you deal with. And then, when Chrysalis asked me to be King… I couldn’t say no. She needed me, and I… I just wanted her to be happy,” he explained, looking across the waves at the heart-shaped crescents reflected in the sky. “I’m sorry, Nightmare Moon,” Jeremy apologized. “I knew this whole time, and I didn’t say anything. I’m so sorry.”

Nightmare Moon stared at him a moment longer, a thousand emotions flickering across her eyes. Jealousy, hurt, betrayal, understanding, anger, then… peace. “We understand,” she whispered, smiling slightly to herself.

“You do?” Jeremy asked, shocked.

“Of course,” Nightmare Moon laughed, a tear falling from her eye. “Of course thou wouldst seek to treat us all equally as friends. Tis’ what thou hast done this entire time. We were foalish to think otherwise…” she lamented.

“Hey, hey, don’t think like that! I…” Jeremy trailed off, unsure what to say.

“No… thou art right. We should not treat thy friendship as an inferior service,” Nightmare Moon admitted. “But… what can we say to Queen Chrysalis? The pair of us are already… at odds. We fear that if we admit our feelings to her, even in retrospect, she shall… she shall hate us,” Nightmare Moon mumbled quietly. Jeremy looked at her forlornly, placing a hand on her wing.

“I don’t hate you,” Chrysalis spoke up from behind them.

Nightmare Moon jumped, startled, and Jeremy jerked his hand away from her. Scrambling back towards the waves, Nightmare Moon stumbled to her hooves, turning to face Chrysalis.

“Thou – thou dost not? But-but what about our love for thine suitor? Doth that not perturb thee?” Nightmare Moon questioned incredulously.

Chrysalis shook her head. “I’ve come to realize that friendship and love… are two very similar things. And if Jeremy wants to, then… I’d like to include you in our relationship!” Chrysalis asserted.

Nightmare Moon clapped both of her hooves over her mouth, speechless, and Chrysalis turned to Jeremy. Jeremy was speechless as well, his mind in turmoil as he considered the possibilities. On the one hand, this would resolve tension between the two for the moment. On the other… was he really sure he could handle two mares? He'd only just started dealing with one, after all...

“I, um… uh…” he stammered, his face betraying his indecision as his eyes flickered between the two of them.

Finally, Nightmare Moon placed a hoof on his shoulder, startling him. “It is alright,” she soothed. “Thou can say no, and I shalt not hold it against thee.”

Chrysalis scuffed a hoof against the sand. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to put you on the spot like that, I just… got a little caught up in the moment,” she admitted with a small laugh.

“T-that’s okay,” Jeremy answered reflexively.

“What if we… hmm. We art not sure what to call such a relationship, but what if we spend time with him as necessary, without… quite being lovers? T’would be a sort of transition phase between friendship and love,” Nightmare Moon mused.

“I’d be okay with that. Jeremy?” Chrysalis asked.

“Uh… what exactly would that entail?” Jeremy asked.

Nightmare Moon blushed. “Perhaps just someone to… er… cuddle, occasionally? A-and talk about our troubles?” she offered, grinning bashfully.

Platonic love, Jeremy realized. That’s what she’s talking about. “Um… yeah, that… that actually sounds nice,” he admitted.

Nightmare Moon beamed at him joyously, and he smiled back uncertainly. Before any of them could speak further, the lunar alicorn had pulled the pair of them into a bone-crushing hug, nuzzling each of their faces as hard as she could.

“Oh, we are so glad that this worked out!” she announced excitedly.

“Does this mean we can come out now?” Sombra called out from somewhere behind them. Jeremy craned his neck around to look at Sombra, who was standing along with Tirek at the edge of the clearing.

“Oh! Um… verily, thou may,” Nightmare Moon allowed, blushing slightly.

“Now that that’s out of the way… remind me, how many days do we have until Princess Celestia arrives?” Tirek asked pointedly.

Jeremy paused a moment to think, trying not to instead ruminate on whether Tirek and Sombra had been watching. “Uh… three?” he guessed.

“Two, actually. T’was midnight a half hour ago,” Nightmare Moon corrected.

“Oh, right,” Jeremy recalled. “So… anything else to see here?” he wondered.

“Can we stay a while longer? I haven’t been outside in so long,” Sombra whined.

Jeremy shrugged and nodded. “I don’t see why not. We can just sleep on the beach,” he suggested.

Nightmare Moon smiled, and obediently laid down on the sand. Jeremy took a seat beside her, electing after a moment to rest his head on top of her belly. Nightmare looked at him in surprise, before smiling at him, shifting to make herself more comfortable. Chrysalis snuggled up in Jeremy’s arms, completing the trio, and Sombra snorted in disgust at their actions before rolling over on his side.

“I’ll keep watch,” Tirek rumbled, stomping off into the forest.

Jeremy watched him go, concerned, and Chrysalis tapped his side gently with a hoof.

“He’s probably fine. Give him some alone time,” she advised.

Jeremy reluctantly agreed, and drifted off to sleep, the soft sounds of the waves and gentle moonlight lulling him into the world of dreams.

Jeremy slowly awoke, wondering why his pillow was so warm. And furry. He quickly realized he was still laying on Nightmare Moon’s belly, and he groggily shifted so that he was instead cuddling into her back, Chrysalis haphazardly sandwiched between them. He murmured slightly, and Nightmare Moon shifted, flapping a wing lazily to try and reach him before giving up and returning to her prior position. Jeremy slowly sat up, Chrysalis protesting as he brushed the sand off of his backside.

“Morning, Chryssy,” he yawned. Upon hearing his voice, Nightmare Moon rolled over, sleepily cracking open an eye. “Morning, Moony,” he added as she did, smiling slightly at her dazed expression.

“Good morning,” she returned, sitting up abruptly and looking around.

Jeremy followed her gaze, distinctly aware of the bright sun overhead.

In the daytime, the beach looked much less… magical. It was just a boring, white beach, with sand, waves, and a few spots of grass.

“So, shall we depart?” Nightmare Moon asked, once the three of them had awoken. Sombra was still snoring on the sand, fast asleep.

“Wait. Where’s Tirek?” Jeremy wondered.

“He said he was going to keep watch,” Chrysalis remembered, having awoken as well.

“Sombra, wake up,” Nightmare Moon called, shaking Sombra awake with her magic.

“Wha – what is it?!” Sombra growled, apparently distinctly unhappy at being awake.

“Tirek is missing. Dost thou know where he might be?” Nightmare Moon urgently asked.

Sombra shook his head. “Last I saw of him was the last you saw of him,” Sombra denied, shaking himself more awake as he got to his hooves.

“Okay… let’s spread out, he can’t be that hard to find,” Jeremy directed.

“No need, I’m right here,” Tirek called out. The centaur looked exhausted, the bags under his eyes attesting to a lack of sleep and the expression on his face doing little to alleviate the matter.

“You okay?” Jeremy immediately asked, concerned.

“I knew I wasn’t going to be able to sleep, so I took watch. I’m fine,” Tirek dismissed.

Jeremy gave him a lopsided frown. “You need to get some sleep sometime,” he lectured. “Otherwise you’ll start hallucinating, and we both know that’s not a fun time for you.”

Tirek snorted. “As if my dreams are any better,” he muttered.

“Nightmares? Mayhap we canst be of assistance,” Nightmare Moon offered.

Tirek raised an eyebrow at her, considering this. “…Maybe,” he admitted thoughtfully.

Jeremy, pleased to see that they were working together, merely smiled silently.

They flew back, Jeremy relaxing on Nightmare Moon’s back this time. “I should really learn how to fly,” he commented at one point, watching Chrysalis swoop in circles around them.

Nightmare Moon laughed. “Thou? Fly? Thou hast no wings!” she pointed out.

Jeremy chuckled. “I’d build a jetpack, or something,” he dismissed casually. “It would certainly save everyone the trouble of having to fly me places.”

Chrysalis, overhearing, sighed. “We’re actually having a lot of fun flying you around, you know. It’s not a burden, it’s a pleasure. Enjoy it!” she ordered.

Jeremy chuckled louder. “Oh, alright, if you say so,” he agreed. "I just... I dunno. I've wanted to fly ever since I was a little kid."

As they returned home, Jeremy and Chrysalis were instantly swarmed by a horde of delighted changelings, not least of which were the small army of baby changelings which immediately made straight for Jeremy’s torso, once again burying him in a cuddle pile. Chrysalis slapped a hoof to her forehead, and Nightmare Moon giggled as she observed Jeremy attempting to hug as many changelings as he could reach.

One of the small ones was especially relentless, licking his face and kissing his nose as much as it could, and it began to glow with a white light. There was a pop, and suddenly it was much more colorful, a shade of lime green as opposed to its prior black. It had tiny blue horns on top of its head, and a mane and tail of the same blue. Jeremy stared at it in consternation, as it emitted a happy chirp. “Is that… normal?” he asked Chrysalis, who appeared frozen.

“That… um… I…” she stuttered. The new changeling wriggled its way into Jeremy’s arms, where it cuddled up against his sweater, to the audible envy of the other changeling babies.

Chrysalis swallowed nervously. “That’s… that’s what happens when a changeling… gives all of its love to someone, without expecting anything in return. It... it transforms into some kind of... ascended form, that isn't constantly hungry,” she admitted looking away.

“Okay…” Jeremy answered uncertainly. Wasn’t that a good thing?

Why was she so reluctant to answer?

And then it hit him.

Chrysalis was looking down at the ground, tears streaming down her face. “I’m sorry… I’m sorry…” she sobbed.

Jeremy gently set the newly transformed changeling down on the ground before rushing over to comfort her. “Hey, hey. I knew things wouldn’t be okay instantly,” he soothed.

“But – but I-“ Chrysalis began.

Jeremy put a finger to her lips. “I’m gonna take a guess. You can’t ‘love me completely’ because you’re still messed up by your past relationship, right?” he tried. Chrysalis ashamedly nodded. Jeremy took her into a hug, the other changelings watching. “That’s normal,” he insisted. “Everyone does that after an abusive relationship, it’s super common back home. It’s not your fault, and you will get better with time, I promise,” he murmured, gently stroking her hair.

Chrysalis was silent for a moment. “If I… If I looked like… that… would you love me more?” she asked quietly.

Taken aback, Jeremy leaned his head away to stare at her more appropriately. “Girl, you’re a shapeshifter,” he reminded her, causing Chrysalis’ mouth to quirk up in the barest hint of a smile. “I love you for who you are… not what you choose to look like.”

Chrysalis launched herself forward, kissing him on the lips and pinning him to the ground as she happily made out with him.

“Ugh,” Sombra groaned, looking away. “Disgusting.”

Tirek watched impassively, neither disgust nor delight registering on his face. Nightmare Moon, meanwhile, was blushing, and looking away with a guilty smile.

Finally, the two of them stopped kissing long enough to inhale some much-needed oxygen, and Jeremy blushed bright red as he realized just how many had been watching them.

“A-Anyway… let’s go inside,” he offered, and the changelings who had come out to greet him obediently formed a circle around the five of them, spears at the ready as they formally escorted him and his friends back to the throne room.

Once there, he was greeted by a trio of changelings looking up at him with hopeful eyes.

“My King,” they murmured, bowing as he approached.

“My subjects,” Jeremy answered happily, trying not to laugh at himself as he called them that.

“So, um, we used to be clothing designers in Canterlot before we were discovered, and, uh, um…” one of them began, before trailing off nervously.

“We made you a dress!” the second one blurted, and was immediately shoved by the third.

“It’s called a suit! Males wear suits, not dresses!” they whispered.

The three of them fell silent as they glanced over at Chrysalis, who appeared unamused by their antics. Jeremy, however, was still holding back giggles.

“Okay, what’s it look like?” he asked.

At this, the first changeling revealed a neatly folded square of cloth, holding it up in the air as the other two jumped up, grabbing the corners and flying upward to display it properly.

It was revealed to be a robe, made of sleek, black silky fabric with buttons in the front. Upon the torso was a small, heart-shaped design, and as Jeremy looked at it he realized his heart necklace fit squarely in the center. It had a high collar, reaching up and outwards just a little past Jeremy’s neck and making the whole thing look like the uniform of a supervillain. Finally, dark purple trim was present around the edges of the sleeves, the collar, and the bottom.

“Oh my goodness,” Jeremy marveled, taking it all in. “This. Is. Fabulous!” he gushed.

The three drones looked at each other excitedly.

“I told you he’d like it!” one whispered.

“Put it on!” another begged.

Jeremy obediently held out his arms, and they swooped forth, pulling it onto his form easily as Jeremy thrust his hands through the sleeves. “I look so cool!” he commented excitedly, twirling around to get a look at his new robes.

“Very stylish,” Nightmare Moon remarked, grinning.

“Not what I’d imagine a changeling King to look like… but not bad,” Sombra admired.

“It’s a piece of clothing,” Tirek scoffed.

“Correction: It is an incredibly cool and fashionable piece of clothing,” Jeremy lectured, crossing his arms in smug delight.

“My King, your words are too much for us lowly designers!” one of the drones exclaimed, swooning dramatically. Jeremy laughed, and knelt down to hug all three of them, shocking them.

“My words are not nearly enough to express my gratitude,” he countered. “I will wear this robe with pride.”

They hugged for a moment more, and finally Jeremy broke away to look at Chrysalis. “Though… if it’s not too much trouble…” he began, and the three clothing designers looked at him curiously. “Chrysalis, would you like a matching one?” Jeremy asked.

Chrysalis, taken by surprise, blushed slightly. “I, uh, sure?” she answered.

Jeremy looked at the designers, who saluted. “Right away, your Majesties!” they chorused in unison, before bolting away, already excitedly chittering about which colors and fabrics to use.

“You already look beautiful, but with a dress like this, I don’t think anyone will be able to resist you,” Jeremy teased.

Chrysalis fell silent, a blush spreading on her face as she fought to compose herself.

“Thou art a shameless flirt sometimes,” Nightmare Moon chided, gently cuffing Jeremy on the shoulder.

Jeremy laughed. “What? I like making people smile. It makes me feel good,” he defended.

The others laughed, except for Tirek, who put a hand to his chin in thought.

They finished off the day with yet another feast, still barely even scraping the vast quantities of food stored in the Hive.

“Just one more day until Celestia shows up,” Jeremy remarked.

“If it came down to it… could you fight her?” Tirek wondered.

Jeremy shrugged. “Won’t know until I try. I can probably make it, though,” he noted.

Tirek snorted. “I’m sure you can,” he muttered.

“Aww, thanks, big guy,” Jeremy answered.

Tirek grunted, and lumbered his way over towards where his room was.

“Goodnight, Chryssi,” Jeremy whispered a few minutes later, having brushed and tucked himself into bed. His robe hung neatly on a hook just inside the door, and he was cuddled up next to Chrysalis as usual.

“Goodnight… Jere… um… Jeremy,” she whispered back.

Jeremy chuckled quietly. “Don’t worry, you’ll think of something,” he teased.

Her belly rumbled in amusement, but she said nothing more, and the two of them drifted off to sleep.

Chapter 4

Jeremy spent his last day before Celestia’s arrival SAVING as much as he could. It would be his first fight since the climactic final battle with that other version of himself in the System Defenses of Tartarus, and he needed to get himself ready.

He knew it was going to be a fight, for starters. He wasn’t about to let what had been done to his friends slide, and if he knew Celestia from the documents she had written, she would be hard-pressed to admit she was wrong. And, for once, he had the opportunity to get ready for it instead of just rushing in blindly. But how would he ready himself for a fight with the Princess of the Sun? And how would he figure out how to show her mercy in a way that would help her see what she had done wrong? All this and more Jeremy ruminated over, as he and Chrysalis sat on the throne. Chrysalis sensed his apprehension, and had apparently ordered every changeling to let them be as he mulled over it, again and again.

“I just don’t see how this is going to work,” he muttered after he had rolled it around in his head for the fifth time.

Chrysalis sighed. “If you were any other person, I’d suggest going for her horn. But defeating Celestia in a pacifist manner… that’s going to be hard,” she agreed.

Jeremy sighed, and went back to thinking.

But, no matter how hard he tried, he simply couldn’t think of anything. I suppose I’ll just have to wing it like usual, Jeremy sighed mentally.

Wing what, my King? A drone curiously asked.

N… nothing, Jeremy hastily answered, having accidentally projected his thoughts. This crown sure was strange sometimes.

Tirek stomped in after a few hours, causing Jeremy to sit up straight and attempt to look like he wasn’t bored out of his mind.

“What’s up, Tirek?” Jeremy asked politely.

“I heard through the grapevine you were looking for a way of beating Celestia,” the centaur rumbled.

Jeremy sighed. “No, Tirek, we can’t steal her magic.”

Tirek rumbled some more, and it took Jeremy a moment to realize that he’d gotten Tirek to laugh for the very first time since they met. “No, you moron. I was thinking of training,” Tirek clarified.

“Oh. How so?” Jeremy wondered, interested.

Tirek put up his fists. “Fight me,” he demanded.

“Wait, what? I’m not fighting you!” Jeremy refused in alarm.

“I don’t mean try to kill me, I mean to make sure you’re still as skilled at dodging as you were before,” Tirek explained.

“Oh... And you’re sure this is a purely friendly fight?” Jeremy asked.

Tirek slapped a massive palm to his forehead. “Just get out here so I can punch you,” he commanded.

Jeremy snorted with laughter, disrobing and taking off his crown before hopping off the throne. “Guards, you may want to stand back,” he warned. The Guards obediently fled to the walls of the cavern. “You too, Chrysalis. I don’t want a stray blast hitting you,” he ordered.

“But I want to watch!” Chrysalis whined.

“You can watch… from over there,” Jeremy insisted, pointing.

Chrysalis grumbled something, and reluctantly complied, flying over with a buzz of her gossamer wings to the edge of the throne room. That done, Jeremy squared off against Tirek.

“Okay, big guy,” he began. “Let’s dance.”

Tirek lowered his horns in a battle stance, but paused, looking up in confusion. “Oh, right,” he remembered. “This cavern is lined with magic-blocking material. Let’s take this outside,” he ordered. Jeremy shrugged and followed him.

They went to the very top of the hive, Chrysalis and the Guards following behind to watch as Jeremy once again entered the old, destroyed throne room. Tirek took up his position at the far end, and Jeremy nervously surveyed the ground below. If he went flying from this distance… Tirek, noticing his glance, cast a spell of his own, encasing the area in a translucent orange dome.

“You won’t have to worry about falling off,” Tirek informed him, putting up his fists again.

“Excellent,” Jeremy answered. “Now let’s dance.”

It was a long and exhausting fight, as Tirek relentlessly pursued him with blast after blast of lasers. If Jeremy got too close, Tirek would add in some punches and kicks with his giant hooves and fists as well, more often than not sending Jeremy flying across the room. Occasionally, Tirek would call out advice, such as “You keep dodging to your left, it’s predictable!” or “That does not mean only dodge to the right, stupid!” or even “Stop pausing to see if I’m okay!”

Finally, Tirek stopped attacking him, breathing heavily and looking slightly smaller than he had before.

“Are you okay?” Jeremy immediately asked again.

If looks could kill, the glare Tirek shot him would have erased him from reality itself. “I’m fine,” the centaur insisted, panting slightly. “What matters is that you’re still good enough at dodging, and I think you are. Now get some food and sleep, you’re going to need your energy for tomorrow,” he ordered.

“Sir, yes, sir,” Jeremy muttered, smiling and making his way back into the hive.

“Do you really have to go to bed so soon?” Chrysalis asked, pouting as they entered her room after dinner.

“Sorry, girl, I’m exhausted,” Jeremy panted, throwing himself onto the bed.

“Okay… I still have to finish up some things. I’ll send Nightmare Moon up to keep you company,” Chrysalis offered.

Jeremy smiled at her. “Okay,” he answered, glad that she was showing interest in Nightmare Moon’s part of the relationship.

The lunar alicorn herself arrived shortly, so much so that Jeremy suspected she had rushed up upon hearing he needed company.

“Hey,” Jeremy greeted from the bed.

“Greetings,” Nightmare Moon returned.

She gently took a seat on the bed next to him, where Chrysalis would normally lay, and Jeremy immediately snuggled into her belly. “Tired?” she asked, and Jeremy hummed in confirmation. “Tirek must have given thee quite a sound thrashing. Will thou be alright come morn?” she asked.

Tired as he was, Jeremy took a moment to translate her words. “Yeah… I’ll be fine,” he dismissed, smiling.

Nightmare Moon hummed happily as she draped a wing over him, gently rubbing his back with a hoof. Jeremy drifted off, content to cuddle his new platonic lover. He really had to think of a new name for their relationship…

Hours later, Jeremy awoke to find himself being cuddled on two sides. Nightmare Moon was on one, having shifted position so that her wings, hooves, and hair were wrapped around him as she contentedly nuzzled his forehead, almost purring as she tried to make as much surface contact as possible with his body. On his other side was Chrysalis, attempting to do much the same with her smaller body. Her wings would occasionally buzz as she slept, and her expression indicated pleasant dreams. Her tongue would occasionally flicker out, licking him on the cheek as she giggled softly. One of her hooves, draped across his belly, rubbed up and down slowly, and Jeremy smiled as he looked down at it. Eyes returning to the ceiling, he took a moment to collect his thoughts, surprisingly lucid despite having just woken up.

Celestia had built a massive laboratory inside Tartarus for experimentation purposes. Presumably, she was trying to find a way to recreate the Harmony Barrier, but it seemed she had chosen an alternative tactic of using runestones instead. She had kidnapped and essentially tortured Tirek, with the full knowledge that nobody would come find him or care. Luna, while aware of the project, was seemingly not aware of its darker implications according to some of the logs he had found. The Royal Guard patrolled Tartarus, or… they had, at least, and a good majority of them had died and become spirits through an unspecified event. The prisoners, despite being present during this attack, neither recalled any Guard getting killed or any attacker roaming around.

Tartarus itself might have had something to do with that, Jeremy mused. Space and time weren’t quite linear in Tartarus, with many things often overlapping or canceling out altogether. Euclidean geometry was not always present, and neither was a logical, linear sequence of events. Alternate selves could be encountered, Jeremy knew that much from his final battle with himself, and Tirek appeared to have some knowledge of timelines other than his own. Though Jeremy had never quite worked up the courage to ask what, precisely, Tirek knew.

And then there was his own ability. It had presumably started the instant he had fallen into Tartarus, though he had no way of knowing if he had always had it, having never died before. Every time he became fatally injured, he could simply ‘turn back the clock’ and reappear at the time and place he last pushed the SAVE button, thus allowing him to re-do events infinitely until he succeeded. It had allowed him to befriend what many in Equestria would regard as ‘irredeemable,’ the worst of the worst. But why did he have this ability? Who had given it to him, and to what end?

During his journey through Tartarus, he had become less and less careful to avoid his own demise. Occasionally, he had thrown himself into death out of pure frustration, while other times he had been able to stay on his toes long enough to win. Though, throughout his whole time there, he’d never once considered fighting back against any of the villains he'd encountered, at least not any of the physically real ones. He’d always picked one of the other four options. SPARE, FLIRT, DO NOTHING, or rarely RUN.

And at the end of his journey… he’d met other humans, for the first time. He’d been shocked then, and he was still surprised now. If he wasn’t the only human here, did that mean that Earth and Equestria were each aware of the other’s presence now? And what had Discord meant by Celestia’s ‘human collection?’ Jeremy didn’t want to believe it, but all the evidence pointed towards Celestia actually being evil. Maybe she was collecting humans to experiment on them too. After all, he’d been practically immune to magic attacks, a useful talent to someone looking to defeat and capture Equestria’s aggressors. Perhaps these other humans were having that ability… extracted from them, in some painful fashion. Jeremy cringed at the thought, and Chrysalis murmured from his side, frowning slightly as she nuzzled his chest. Slowly, Jeremy relaxed. If his friends, the ones he’d laughed with, fought beside, and loved with all his heart… if they were the worst Equestria had to offer, how bad could Celestia be?

And then… his current life. He was a King, the first human King ever in Equestria. Possibly the first human in Equestria, though without consulting the other humans he’d seen, he could never be sure. He was probably going to be written into history books, though Jeremy still didn’t know if he was one of history’s ‘good characters’ or ‘bad characters.’ History was written from the perspective of the winner, after all, and until Jeremy made sure that Celestia understood what she did wrong, she was still effectively the ‘winner’ of the strange game they had been playing.

A wry thought occurred to him, perhaps born of his current state of semi-lucidity. Someday, somewhere, schoolchildren would write an essay about him. They’d research his deeds, and furiously make up things to reach the word count. Perhaps, assuming things worked out that way, they’d even interview him. Jeremy chuckled quietly, and Chrysalis licked his cheek, a smile appearing on her own muzzle. Jeremy closed his eyes, content at least for the moment. They opened a second later, a sudden urge striking him, and he opened his menu, pressing buttons randomly to see if anything had changed. Strangely, the space in [TALK] that had once been dedicated to the useless 'Call Ruby' function was now saying “Call *&^$ (ERROR: OBJECT MISSING).” Curious, Jeremy pressed it, only to find that it did nothing. A ‘game error,’ now that he was outside Tartarus, perhaps? Jeremy elected to ignore it, moving on to the SAVE button. He pressed it, once again feeling that strange lurch as reality righted itself from an unseen tilt, and closed the menu. Finally, he closed his eyes again, hoping that tomorrow would go well.

Jeremy woke up again, feeling groggy and cold. Chrysalis and Nightmare Moon had both left some time ago, the sheets rumpled and unmade, and as Jeremy slowly came to his senses he wondered where they had gone. He stumbled his way over to the bathroom that Chrysalis had made for him, and set about cleaning himself up for the big day ahead.

As he stepped out of the shower, it occurred to him that he could simply ask his changelings where they were. He mentally slapped himself in the face for forgetting such an important ability of his, crossing to his room and putting on his crown to address the Hive.

Does anyone know where the Queen is? He asked.

In the throne room, your Majesty. It has been some hours since she awoke, and she has been preparing us for the arrival of Queen Celestia and her entourage. They have been spotted on the horizon, a drone relayed to him, ‘sounding’ quite far away – a scout at the perimeter, Jeremy surmised.

How many accompany them? he asked, making his way to the throne room as quickly as he could.

Too many to count… and they are armed, the drone answered, confirming Jeremy’s fears.

Your orders, sir? Another wondered.

The Queen told us to look to you for guidance, as she fears her advice is insufficient, yet another drone added.

...Whatever you do, do not engage them, even in conversation, Jeremy answered, thinking fast. Lead them to me, I will speak with them.

What do you plan to do? Chrysalis chimed in, a hint of worry in her ‘voice.’

Talk to them, of course, Jeremy answered. And can you do me a favor? He added, recalling something important.

Sure, what? Chrysalis asked.

Evacuate the younglings and those who are not attending, Jeremy ordered. Just in case.

Chrysalis closed the link between them, but Jeremy could still ‘hear’ her voice giving out orders to the other drones.

He stepped out onto a ledge, hundreds of feet above the ground. The wind whipped loudly around him, and he squinted to make out the approaching army in the oncoming sunlight. For a moment, he wondered if he could simply engage every single one of them in a battle scene at once. No, that would just be stupid, he mused. Celestia’s chariot was in front, its golden armor winking in the sunlight as two Royal Day Guards pulled it along as fast as they could. Luna’s was not far behind, cloaked in matching armor of midnight blue. Finally, just behind Luna’s chariot, there appeared to be an unmarked purple chariot, possibly either Twilight’s or Cadance’s. A feeling of dread began to settle in Jeremy’s stomach as he watched them arrive, and he somehow felt that they were watching him back, magical eyes trained on him to scrutinize his expression. Unable to think of any expression to give that wouldn’t make them further suspicious of his motives, Jeremy elected to silently turn around, making his way back into the Hive as he traveled to the ground floor.

Chrysalis was waiting for him there, surprisingly wearing the dress she had received from the three changeling fashion designers they had spoken to just a few days ago.

“Any ideas?” she whispered nervously, motioning at his other three friends, who stared at him with wide, alarmed expressions.

Jeremy shook his head. “I think we might just have to do things the old-fashioned way… talk to them, and hope everything goes right. And if not… I can always try something else, he added in his head.

Chrysalis nodded thoughtfully. “As for the three of you… do me a favor, and wait here. It’s best we don’t overwhelm them by bringing all four of you out at once,” Jeremy commanded.

“Sound reasoning,” agreed Nightmare Moon.

“Sound, my left flank! We can take them,” Sombra insisted, sounding as though he’d brought this up before.

“Sombra…” Tirek groaned in annoyance.

“I told you, we wouldn’t fight them! Jeremy’s not the only one allowed to show mercy, you know!” Sombra retorted.

“And yet, he doth possess the most skill at it,” Nightmare Moon shot down.

“Let him do his job,” Tirek ordered. “Things will look much better if it seems like he can ‘control’ us.” Sombra glared at Tirek, but remained silent.

Jeremy approached the shadow unicorn. “I know, I know. You don’t want to look like my ‘servant’ or something. But sometimes, no matter what you say, people will get angry if you try to assert yourself first,” he tried. “But if they make the first move, they might just feel a bit better about it?”

Sombra grumbled something that Jeremy couldn’t hear.

“What?” he asked.

“Okay, fine. We’ll stay here. But you better let me prove to Cadance that I’m good now,” Sombra demanded.

Jeremy laughed, a hint of relief permeating his tone. “I promise, I will.”

With that, he and Chrysalis headed towards the exit of the Hive, accompanied by several changeling Guards. It was showtime.

The chariots slowed to a halt several hundred feet away, and ponies began to climb out of them. Princess Celestia was the first to appear, her golden regalia glinting in the sunlight as she leaped out of her chariot and glided downward, angling her wings to land as daintily as possible. Luna was next, though she was much more violent than graceful as she landed hard enough to shake the earth around her. Finally, an assortment of ponies began to exit the larger chariot behind them, though at this distance Jeremy could not tell who they were. Guards began lining up in two rows to either side of the Princesses, a trumpet’s call sounding as they began striding forward.

“Announcing Her Royal Majesty, Princess Celestia! And Her Royal Majesty, Princess Luna!” a Guard called.

Is this normal? Chrysalis asked, watching the display of grandeur.

It’s very… formal, Jeremy decided. They probably either want to impress or intimidate us, quite possibly both.

Princess Celestia strode up to him, looking much less intimidating now that she was up close.

“Are you not going to announce your presence?” she inquired regally.

“Hi, I’m Jeremy,” Jeremy returned casually, some of the changeling guards stifling giggles before being elbowed by the more stoic ones.

Celestia turned up her nose at him. “A pleasure to meet you… ‘Jeremy.’ We have arrived to speak with Queen Chrysalis, among others, on their intentions for the future of Equestria,” Celestia began. “We have also arrived to question your arrival as it pertains to the-“ she elaborated further, but was cut off by an infuriated Princess Luna, panting in rage as she got up in Jeremy’s face.

“Where is she?!” Luna demanded, her voice ringing like steel. “Where is that wretched scum, that vile filth that dares to call herself my doppelganger?”

Jeremy, meanwhile, was thankful that Nightmare Moon had not accompanied them out – judging by her expression, Luna would have attacked her counterpart on sight. “My friend is somewhere safe,” he calmly replied. “And she is sorry for what she did to you.”

Luna growled at him. “And what did she tell you? That she forced me to betray mine own sister? Got us both banished to the moon for a thousand years?!” Luna demanded, evidently expecting this information to surprise him.

“That and more, actually,” Jeremy answered.

Luna narrowed her eyes, before flaring out her wings in an impressive display. “Tell. Me. Where. She. Is,” the Princess of the Night growled between clenched teeth.

“No,” Jeremy replied, still as outwardly calm as ever. Why was he so calm, anyway? He should be terrified. Here stood a mare who had enough magic in her to move the moon, he should be quaking in his boots at the sight of her! But somehow, he was still in control. Maybe it was because he’d already died so many times that it didn’t matter?

Luna, meanwhile, had stepped back, squaring her withers and lowering her head. “Then so be it,” she muttered.

“Sister!” Celestia chided, stepping in between them. “We are here for peaceful talks! Would you resort to violence so easily?!”

Luna pushed her away. “Anyone who consorts with that demon means us nothing but harm!” she roared, and sprang forward.

To Luna’s surprise, she was immediately thrown back by a green shield that had erupted in front of her, Chrysalis’ horn lighting up an emerald green as she cast the spell.

“Don’t you dare hurt my King!” Chrysalis screeched.

Chrysalis… Jeremy warned.

What else can I do? She was going to hurt you! Chrysalis retorted, allowing her spell to dissipate.

“Chrysalis, I appreciate it, but… go inside,” Jeremy commanded.

“What?! And leave you out here?!” Chrysalis exclaimed in outrage. She glanced at Luna, who was readying another attack.

“I know you’re scared. But please go inside, Chrysalis. I can’t lose you, not now,” Jeremy whispered.

Chrysalis stared at him for a moment longer, then reluctantly bowed her head. “You promise you’ll win?” she asked quietly.

“I promise,” Jeremy affirmed.

Without another word, Chrysalis turned and retreated, a single nod of her head causing the changeling Guard to follow after her, whispering to themselves. Jeremy sighed as she went – he didn’t like it, but it had worked last time…

Luna watched, a flicker of interest passing across her expression as she signaled to her Lunar Guards, who had been encircling her chariot. They formed a circle around the three of them, Jeremy, Luna and Celestia, closing ranks so that none could escape.

“She did as you asked,” Luna noted.

“Well, I did say ‘please,’” Jeremy joked back, a small smile coming to his face.

“Why? Why send her away when she was protecting you?” Luna wondered.

“I didn’t want her to get hurt,” Jeremy answered truthfully.

Luna narrowed her eyes. “You… you’re only pretending to be friendly!” she accused. “It’s all just a ploy to get us to lower our defenses! But I am not so simple-minded as that, foal!” Luna shouted.

“Then I’ll just have to prove it,” Jeremy shrugged, nonplussed.

Luna glared at him suspiciously, and charged forward again, horn pointed directly at his chest. Jeremy stepped out of the way, but Luna had been expecting it, thrusting out a hoof to her left and punching him in the stomach. To Jeremy, it felt as though he’d just been hit by a train. Looking over at his health counter, he noted that that one punch had taken out just a little under half his health – he couldn’t afford to get hit like that again.

Or, maybe… he could?

Jeremy made his choice, the five options disappearing as he picked an option he’d almost never had to use before. Luna circled around, crouching low to the ground before springing forward, hooves outstretched. Jeremy did nothing to dodge, and was promptly tackled to the floor as Luna began smacking him around with her front two hooves. Inwardly, he wondered why Luna was fighting so… dirty. He’d always assumed her to be a graceful fighter, but here she appeared to be using street rules as she pummeled him.

“Where is she?!” Luna screamed, stomping a hoof down on his ribs. Jeremy felt something crack, and a whole new kind of pain blossomed inside his chest as he fought to stay conscious. Why had he made this stupid choice, again?

“Where is she?!” Luna repeated her crazed question, bringing another hoof down on his torso.

“Why won’t you fight back?!” Luna screeched, growing even angrier as she leaped off of him.

“Sister, stop!” Celestia cried, and Jeremy dazedly remembered that Celestia had been there the whole time, too. Had she just been standing off to the side, doing nothing? He looked back, finding that Luna had apparently summoned a wicked-looking metal spear with her magic, levitating it over her shoulder.

“We don’t need you,” Luna hissed, stalking towards him.

“ENOUGH!” Celestia cried, the dusty plain reverberating with the sheer power of her voice. “Luna, this is not what you said you would do!”

Luna struggled as Celestia attempted to pull the spear away from her with her magic. “He is merely pretending to be a pacifist! He will surely strike us the moment our backs are turned!” Luna shouted back.

“I will not!” Jeremy asserted, managing to get to his feet and swaying slightly from the pain of his injuries. “I will not hurt you. No matter what you do, even if I die today, I will not hurt you.”

Luna appeared surprised at this, and her magic faltered. Celestia, who was still trying to pull the spear away from her sister, managed to yank it out of her magical grasp… only for it to go sailing into the air, heading straight for one of the Guards that had encircled the three of them.

In the split second Jeremy took to watch the spear flying through the air, he knew he had to act fast, despite his splitting headache, despite the pain that threatened to topple him every time he breathed.

He raced forward, time slowing to a crawl as he headed straight for the lone Guard that was in the way of the unfortunate spear, knocking him over.

The last thing Jeremy felt was a terrible pain in his back, and then all was silent.

Chapter 6

Daybreaker issued a bolt of magic at Jeremy, who dove out of the way again. He scrambled to his feet, glaring at the searing blast that was Daybreaker.

“Don’t do this, Celestia!” he shouted. “You don’t have to do this!”

She responded by issuing another blast of magic, but this one wobbled – and then began homing in on him. Before he could react, three more appeared, reducing the rest of the room to cinders.

What followed next could only be described by Jeremy as the second hardest fight he’d ever had. Daybreaker was relentless, not even giving him a chance to speak – she heated patches of the ground until they melted, issued unending homing columns of fiery death towards him, heated the air until he couldn’t breathe, and blinding him with the glare of her white-hot body. Occasionally he’d burn to death, the agonizing pain only relieved as he slowly came to right back where he’d started. At least nobody else is dying this time, Jeremy thought morbidly. Throughout this hell, Jeremy dodged and weaved, desperately trying to stay alive as he also tried to think of things to say to make her stop attacking him.

“We don’t need the human Elements of Harmony!” Daybreaker dismissed viciously during one such attack, fireballs bouncing around the room before exploding violently. “They’re weak. Just like you! All you humans are weak! And I do not care for weakness in my country!” Daybreaker snarled.

“And what about Luna? She was weak once, and you cared about her then!” Jeremy retorted, dodging a beam of fire only to find it exploding outward and grazing him.

“You leave my sister out of this!” Daybreaker demanded, heating the ground under Jeremy’s feet to deadly temperatures.

Luna… that’s it! That’s what she cares about! Jeremy realized. “No!” he replied, hopping off of the freshly-made pool of lava and racing across the room to avoid her next few attacks. “Would Luna want you to do this? To simply murder everything that disagreed with you? No! Because if you did… she’d be dead!” Jeremy cried aloud.

This seemed to stumble Daybreaker for a moment, and he knew had to keep going, keep talking. Keep running his mouth off in the hopes that he’d stumble upon something important enough to her to make her stop fighting altogether.

“Thinking about the consequences of your actions? Because, believe me, you’re not above the law, Celestia! If you continue like this… the only remaining threat to Equestria will be you!” Jeremy asserted.

“S…SHUT UP!” Daybreaker screamed, aiming her horn right at him. Jeremy ducked and rolled as she issued a blast of fire, which seemed… smaller? It was difficult to tell.

“You think your sister will care for you if you’re some kind of genocidal maniac? Because she will, I can tell you that!” Jeremy continued, undaunted. “She’ll care so much that she’ll be forced to stop you or die trying!”

Daybreaker stopped attacking, her eyes widening in shock. “Sh-she wouldn’t… she’d understand! She’d still love me!” Daybreaker screamed back.

“Enough to join you? After what she’s been through?” Jeremy pressed.

“She… I…” Daybreaker trailed off. Then her eyes hardened, glaring at Jeremy as they began to burn red. “ENOUGH TALKING!” the solar queen exclaimed, lighting her horn. “I might not be able to use magic directly on you, vermin. But even someone as determined as you can’t resist the might OF THE SUN!!” Daybreaker triumphantly howled. The ceiling broke around him, and Jeremy looked up to reveal a very bright sun. In fact, the sun looked like it was getting larger. Then he realized: Daybreaker had literally turned the sun into a laser, and shot it at him.

If any person who had watched My Little Pony had one fear, this would probably be it.

In the infinitesimal milliseconds as the beam loomed closer, Jeremy took a moment to remember why he was fighting. Why he’d come so far, and why he couldn’t give up now. His element began to glow…

And then he was lost amidst the blaze.

When the light cleared, all that could be seen was an exhausted Princess Celestia, her hair a simple, unwaving pink, and a single metal shield, emblazoned with a bright pink heart with four darker pink lines curving outwards from it. Celestia slumped to the ground, passing out.

Underneath the shield, cocooned by a still-cooling shell of magma, Jeremy passed out as well. The last sensation he felt was a burning heat all around, coupled with an odd sense of finality.

As he drifted in and out of consciousness, Jeremy heard things that he presumed were from his surroundings, though in his damaged state he couldn’t tell who was speaking or what the context was.

“…encased in magma? How is he alive…”

“…don’t care! Work harder!”

“Jeremy?! Can you hear me?! It’s going to be okay!”

Jeremy noted that this voice was louder than the rest. And, as soon as he did, everything faded to white.

He woke up slowly, feeling an ache all over as he opened his eyes, blearily taking in his painfully white surroundings. He was in a hospital bed, sunlight gently filtering in through the window and landing in a perfect circle around his bed, heating it up to the coziest temperature imaginable. He felt… numb, and it took him a moment to realize that he was probably doped up on a pretty heavy dose of painkillers. He couldn’t move… he couldn’t move! Panic shot through Jeremy as he attempted to move his arms and legs, only to find that they weren’t responding. He could see them still attached to him, so it wasn’t like they’d been removed entirely, but he couldn’t move! He began to blindly panic, breathing heavily as some monitors off to his right began beeping loudly. Immediately, a nurse stallion ran in, bypassing a dark shape at the door as he placed a washcloth on Jeremy’s head. He was bright orange in color, with a dark red mane, and hurt to look at. His mark seemed to be a test tube with some pink liquid in it.

“Hey, hey, it’s alright,” the nurse soothed. “You’re in the hospital, you’re okay. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

Jeremy frantically tried to communicate with his eyes his predicament.

“Oh… you’re upset because you can’t move right now?” the stallion guessed, following his pointed gaze to the rest of his motionless body. “That’s just the painkillers we gave you, they’ll wear off shortly. We would have been able to use magical numbing, but… something went wrong whenever we tried. Don’t worry, you’ll be perfectly fine,” the nurse insisted.

Jeremy reluctantly stopped panicking, the monitors somewhere on his right slowly returning to their normal background noise.

“Anyway, somepony’s been… waiting for you to wake up. Would you like to see her?” the nurse asked, picking up a pen in his mouth and making a few notes on a clipboard.

Jeremy blinked once.

“Oh, right,” the stallion awkwardly remembered. “Uh… blink once if no, twice if yes.”

Jeremy blinked twice, an unamused expression on his face.

“Okay, I’ll… send her in,” the nurse stallion answered.

To Jeremy’s surprise, Chrysalis walked in. Her mane hung limply about her, and her eyes were tinged green – her equivalent of ‘bloodshot,’ Jeremy presumed. She silently approached him, looking down at his motionless figure before staring into his eyes.

“I… am so angry with you right now…” she hoarsely whispered. Climbing up on top of his form, she collapsed sobbing, hugging him tightly. Jeremy wished he could feel it, or better yet, hug her back. “You went up against that? And you didn’t tell me?” she hissed, sounding half furious and half terrified.

I’m sorry, Jeremy answered mentally. I didn’t want you to set her off beforehand.

Chrysalis glared at him, outraged. I wouldn’t have! Don’t you trust me to help you?! she sent back.

Jeremy looked away in shame. I… I should have. I’m sorry, he repeated.

…How many times? Chrysalis asked after a moment, looking at him sadly.

Huh? Jeremy sent back.

How many times did she kill you? the changeling queen clarified.

Jeremy thought for a moment. …Just fifteen, I think? I kinda lost track- he began, but was cut off as Chrysalis suddenly became enraged.

“JUST FIFTEEN?!” she screeched at the top of her lungs, and Jeremy’s eyes went wide at the sudden use of her voice.

Hey, hey, don’t shout it out loud! We’re trying to keep this a secret, remember?! he hurriedly sent.

Chrysalis, realizing her mistake, quickly covered her hooves with her mouth. “I just…” she whispered. “I can’t lose you again, I c-can’t… We had to dig you out of a molten chunk of stone! I was so scared when I saw how badly you’d been hurt…” she sobbed.

I’m sorry, Jeremy sent again. It seemed like it was all he could say at this point.

“I know about your… thing about dying. But what if…” she trailed off. What if every time you die, you just create an alternate timeline? What if there’s fifteen more Chrysalis’ out there who will never see you again? She finished mentally.

Jeremy reeled at the implications of this. How had he never thought of it? Had he just never stopped to consider the fact that he might have been creating dozens, hundreds even, of alternate timelines where the only difference was when he died? Were there hundreds of timelines where the four he’d worked so hard to befriend simply waited at the edge of the Barrier, mourning his death and wondering what to do?

I… I never thought of that, he sent weakly.

Chrysalis drooped her head downward, resting it just below his as she looked at him mournfully. “Is there any way you could find out?” she whispered.

Jeremy shook his eyes from left to right. No… there’s no going back. Once I load a SAVE file, anything that proceeded it is unreachable, unless I perform the exact same events again, he explained. Chrysalis sighed, and closed her eyes, pressing against him as tears began to fall onto his chest. Jeremy, partly out of the same fears she shared, and partly out of relief, began to cry with her.

Their moment was ruined, however, when a familiar white mare with pink hair poked her head through the doorway. “Was someone in here yelling?” she asked sternly.

Chrysalis whipped around to stare at her, and Nurse Redheart reared back in surprise for a moment. “We were having a moment,” Chrysalis hissed at her.

Redheart glared twice as hard, surprising Chrysalis. “Well, your moment had better not involve any more screaming,” she chided as though she were talking to a foal. “I had to spend five straight minutes in room 405A consoling a patient who gets frightened easily. Don’t do it again.” With that, she departed, firmly shutting the door behind her and leaving the two of them to stare after her in silent wonder.

She was… not afraid of you in the slightest, Jeremy noted.

That… that is a first, Chrysalis agreed.

They stayed there for a moment longer, Jeremy slowly recovering his movement. First his fingers, then his toes, the feeling in each returning in a flood of uncomfortable pins and needles. Then his arms… and his legs. Finally, what seemed like hours later, he shifted slightly in the bed, Chrysalis having long since cuddled up to him and falling asleep. He still felt numb, but it was quickly fading. The same nurse stallion from before trotted in, looking tired.

“How are you feeling? Can you move yet?” he asked, checking a few more things off the clipboard.

Jeremy waved his hand in a ‘so-so’ manner in response – he didn’t think he was able to talk quite yet.

“Well, Luna’s about to raise the moon, and Princess Twilight asked me to move you over to her castle as soon as you could… well, move,” the nurse offhandedly mentioned.

Jeremy raised an eyebrow, and the nurse shrugged back.

“No idea, sorry. Though, if you’re one of those humans that I’ve been hearing about, you probably know a lot more than I do.”

Darn it, now Jeremy really wanted to ask him what he’d been hearing about the humans. Any bit of information he could get was a worthwhile one, after all. But… he just couldn’t bring himself to try to speak. He’d seen too many videos of people just after surgery attempting the same, often to comedic results.

“Okay… can you stand up? Oh. Um…” the nurse trailed off, noticing Chrysalis still fast asleep on top of him.

Jeremy smiled, and gently moved her off of him, causing her to stir and kick out a leg. He sat up, twisting his back to either side to an artillery of accompanying cracks. The nurse winced, and Jeremy sighed in relief.

“Better,” he murmured quietly, and was surprised to find that he could indeed talk now.

He picked up Chrysalis, the latter stirring and looking up at him with sleepy eyes. “Are we going already?”

Jeremy nodded, and made to take a step forward. However, he had misjudged just how awake his feet were, and quickly tripped over himself, slamming into the door instead of opening it. Chrysalis immediately shot awake, launching herself forward to brace him as he recovered.

“Thanks,” Jeremy acknowledged as he got back to his feet, relieved that he hadn’t fallen.

“Maybe… maybe I’d better carry you,” Chrysalis thought out loud. She ducked between his legs, pushing upward and jostling him into sitting upon her carapace.

“Okay, well, you’re all checked out and good to-“ The stallion snorted as he caught sight of the two of them.

“What’s so funny?” Chrysalis asked suspiciously.

“Nothing, nothing… um… excuse me,” the stallion excused himself, ducking out of the room. They could hear his laughter after a moment, a few doors down.

“Whatever happened to ‘no loud noises?” Chrysalis grumbled, and Jeremy chuckled good-naturedly.

Chrysalis trotted down the stairs and out of the hospital, Jeremy along for the bumpy ride as ponies gawked and whispered to each other. A gentle breeze played about as fillies and colts happily ran around outside, and Jeremy realized he was wearing nothing but a hospital gown and his underwear, hurriedly drawing the gown himself in embarrassment.

Chrysalis chuckled at his expression. “They put you in that while they were… healing you,” she explained.

“Right… brrr, it’s blustery,” Jeremy noted, shivering. Immediately, the sun overhead brightened, causing Jeremy and Chrysalis to look upward in surprise.

“Uh… well, now it’s nice and warm,” Jeremy amended.

“Yeah… it’s been sunny like this for a few days. Which is weird, considering it’s fall,” Chrysalis remarked.

“Wait… a few days? Chrysalis, how long have I been asleep?” Jeremy questioned urgently.

“Just three days! Sorry, didn’t mean to make you think it was longer,” Chrysalis hastily corrected.

“Three days…” Jeremy murmured.

“I watched over you the whole time,” Chrysalis soothed him. “There were a few moments when… Twilight had to explain to me what the doctors were doing was helping you… but I made sure nothing bad happened.”

Jeremy gave a relieved half-chuckle, leaning forward to hug her neck. “What did I ever do to deserve you?” he whispered.

Chrysalis, rather shockingly, turned her head a hundred and eighty degrees to kiss him back, her neck not strained in the slightest. “Everything you’ve ever done,” she whispered back.

“Whoa. How long have you been able to do that?” Jeremy pointed out.

Chrysalis laughed. “Since I was born. It was my ‘thing’ when I was younger, none of the other changelings could do it.” Jeremy laughed louder, and Chrysalis flashed him a smile. “You think it’s cool? Ponies think it’s creepy,” she noted.

“It is creepy if you do it in a creepy way,” Jeremy retorted. “But you’re not, so it’s fine.”

Chrysalis snorted. “I’ll never understand what ponies think is creepy and isn’t…” she muttered. “It’s so random sometimes.”

As they approached the castle, Jeremy thought he saw something in one of the windows. A flash of pink, just barely visible as it stepped out of sight. Had someone been watching them? How odd.

They came upon Twilight’s castle, where a pair of Royal Guards stood waiting at the massive pair of doors, and another stood off to the side, guarding a familiar face.

“Hey, Tirek!” Jeremy called up.

Tirek looked down in surprise. “You made it,” Tirek noted. “Figured you would.”

Jeremy grinned sheepishly. “You know how it is. Hey… why aren’t you inside?” he pointed out.

Tirek shrugged. “Couldn’t fit through the door. Don’t worry, I’m fine out here,” the centaur dismissed.

“Doesn’t it get cold at night?” Chrysalis asked.

Tirek chuckled darkly. “After being chained just above a pit of lava, the breeze is nice. Trust me, I’m fine.” Jeremy and Chrysalis looked at each other, and shrugged.

“Couldn’t you just give up some of your magic and get smaller to fit through the door?” Jeremy asked.

Tirek raised an eyebrow. “And miss out on these guns?” he pointed out, striking a bodybuilder pose as Jeremy burst out laughing.

“Anyway, hurry up and go inside, you’re missing important stuff,” Tirek chastised.

“Oh! Well… alright. Take care!” Jeremy called as Chrysalis made her way up the steps. Tirek merely nodded.

Jeremy tentatively reached out a hand to knock as the Guards stepped aside wordlessly to let them pass, but the doors swung open of their own accord. Rarity stepped out, carrying a bundle of clothes, and immediately bumped into them.

“Oh! I’m sorry, deeaarrrrrr….” Rarity trailed off, looking up at Chrysalis, and Jeremy.

Chrysalis sighed. “Hi,” she greeted.

“Hello,” Rarity returned, looking up at her nervously.

“Can we go inside now?” Chrysalis asked, raising an eyebrow as the fashionista continued to just stand there.

“Oh! Yes, of course, silly me, I, ah… let me just get out of your way…” Rarity replied, hastily excusing herself.

Jeremy watched her trot hurriedly off, confused. “What’s with her?” he wondered.

“Probably scared of me. I caught a whiff of fear,” Chrysalis explained.

Jeremy sighed. “It’s never gonna be easy, is it…” he remarked sadly.

“Well, she wasn’t attacking me, that’s progress,” Chrysalis pointed out.

They came into the throne room, where everyone froze upon catching sight of them. Jeremy took a moment to take in the scene. The pony Elements of Harmony were sitting in their respective chairs, their corresponding humans making rather comedic use of ordinary wooden chairs beside them as the twelve of them studied the Cutie Map. Sombra and Nightmare Moon were in a corner, having a muted discussion with Starlight, and all three had stopped to look over at him.

“Hey, everyone,” Jeremy casually greeted. There was a moment more of silence. Then, Nightmare Moon catapulted herself over Sombra to tackle the pair of them in a hug.

“We wert so worried about thee!” she chastised, picking the two of them up and hugging them tightly to her chest.

“T-thanks?” Jeremy squeaked as he had the life crushed out of him. Everyone laughed as the tension was broken, and Nightmare Moon promptly let go once she saw the two of them turning blue (or in Chrysalis' case, blue-green) in the face.

“Sorry…” she apologized sheepishly. “Art thou alright?”

Jeremy took a moment to fill his lungs with much-needed oxygen, giving a tired grin to his platonic lover. “Yeah… exhausted, but I’m okay.”

Twilight, seeing he’d arrived, got up and approached him. What Jeremy presumed was a greeting made its way to her throat, but stopped just short of her lips. Instead, Twilight huffed a sigh. “I can’t believe Princess Celestia did all that…” she forlornly remarked. “I did some research, while you were… asleep. It was all true, every word. It was…” Twilight trailed off, seemingly looking for words to say, and promptly burst into tears.

Startled, Jeremy leaned back as Twilight bawled her eyes out, only to be gently dragged away by a worried-looking Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie.

“She’s been like that ever since… well, you know,” Sam spoke up, coming to stand in front of Jeremy.

“Ah, jeez…” Jeremy began guiltily, but Sam held up a hand.

“It’s not your fault… and… it kinda makes sense. Finding out her mentor was doing stuff like that behind her back… that would be devastating to anyone,” Sam remarked glumly.

“Is Celestia okay?” Jeremy asked quietly.

“She’s… locked herself in her room. Nobody can break the enchantment, or teleport in, or anything. We don’t even know if she’s still alive,” Sam whispered.

“Don’t say that!” a new voice rang out, and Sam jumped as Princess Luna strode forward.

“Sorry,” she apologized. “I’ve been… on edge, lately. Twilight’s not the only one who was blindsided by… that.” With that, she turned to Jeremy, a pleading look in her eyes. “Can you speak with my sister? We have all tried, but… you seem to have a talent for these sorts of things, and I… do not,” she admitted, biting her lip.

“Yeah,” Jeremy instantly agreed.

No! Chrysalis mentally objected, glaring at him in outrage.

What? Why not? Jeremy asked, staring right back.

You nearly died to her! I’m not letting you anywhere near her! Chrysalis exclaimed.

…I did die, Jeremy pointed out.

…That doesn’t change anything! Chrysalis argued, looking away from him now.

Chrysalis, I have to do this. You know that as well as I do, Jeremy returned, frustrated.

“Are you two alright? You’ve been… staring at each other for… quite a while now,” Luna pointed out, and they both snapped out of their trance.

“Um. Right! Yeah, we’re fine. We’ll go talk to Celestia now,” Jeremy sheepishly answered. “Come on, Chrysalis.”

Wait, why are you bringing me? Chrysalis asked suspiciously.

I dunno… I guess I feel like I owe you a little compromise, or something, so maybe you can come with and watch over us? Jeremy remarked as Luna promptly led them up a staircase, at a speed which suggested either eagerness or impatience.

…Well… I know you can’t die… and I know I worry a lot for no reason, but… Chrysalis weakly replied, a feeling of guilt emitting from her.

I know how you feel, Jeremy reassured her. It’s the same way I feel about all of you. And I know the whole ‘SAVE’ concept is a bit… weird. But… it’ll be okay, I promise, Jeremy soothed.

I… I know that… and I know I know that… but for some reason, I’m still compelled to try and protect you, Chrysalis grumpily admitted.

It’s kind of endearing, honestly. Knowing I’m not in any real danger, and still trying to protect me… it shows how much you care, I think, Jeremy sent back, flashing a small smile at her.

Chrysalis remained silent, giving him a slight smile of her own.

Luna stopped outside a single door, in a blue hallway of identical doors. The door appeared to be unlocked, but it was probably enchanted.

“Sister? I have brought someone to speak with you again,” Luna called out.

No response.

“Sister, please. It’s him,” Luna begged, looking sad.

“Celestia?” Jeremy spoke up. “It’s me. Can I… can I come in?”

Once again, Celestia said nothing, but the door creaked open ever so slightly. Luna appeared shocked, then turned to Jeremy, an excited expression on her face as she beckoned him onward. Jeremy looked at Chrysalis, who shook her head.

I think… she just wants to talk to you. Don’t worry, I’ll go do something else, she decided, sauntering off. Luna quickly followed, leaving Jeremy alone in the blue corridor. Cautiously, he stepped inside.

The second he stepped inside, he was taken aback by the state the room was in. What was once a well-made bed had been rumpled, torn, and even stained in some places, which Jeremy really hoped weren’t tearstains, if only due to the sheer size of them. The room was strewn with tissue boxes, flung pillows, tossed regalia, and other haphazardly rearranged room decorations, looking as though a miniature hurricane had decided to throw a party with all its friends in the relatively small space. Celestia herself was lying amid a literal pile of used tissues on the bed, looking rather… small. Her hair was pink and unmoving, and she was maybe Luna’s height, if that. The feathers on her wings looked rumpled and crooked, a far cry from their usual pristine glory. She lay on the bed unmoving, a small sniffle every now and then the only indication that she was still alive.

“Celestia?” Jeremy asked quietly, unsure if he should approach her.

Celestia slowly raised her eyes to stare at him, and Jeremy noted how bloodshot they were, as well as the tear tracks running down each side of her face. She lowered her head again, and Jeremy slowly took a seat on the bed beside her, gently moving part of the pile of tissues out of the way.

“Please kill me,” she whimpered, refusing to look at him as she spoke to him for the first time since he woke up.

Jeremy, taken back, remained silent for a moment. “You know that wouldn’t fix anything,” he softly answered.

“Wouldn’t it? You’d defeat the most evil creature in Equestria. Your f-f-friends wouldn’t have to fear m-me anymore. Everyone would be h-happy,” Celestia hiccupped.

“No… they wouldn’t. And neither would I. Nobody’s happy about murder… well, at least, nobody worth knowing,” Jeremy amended.

Celestia remained silent.

“Celestia… everyone’s really worried about you out there. They all care about you so much…” Jeremy tried.

“They care about the me that they see. The one that never does anything wrong, the princess who everypony wishes to be, the… the perfect little shell of a pony I was,” Celestia angrily muttered.

“Or maybe they care about their friend, Celestia, who’s been sad lately and needs cheering up,” Jeremy retorted. “I’m willing to bet not a single person in that room, human or pony, wants to know you just because you’re a princess.”

Celestia snorted. “Fine. Everyone else loves me. You win,” she muttered.

Jeremy immediately softened his expression. “I’m sorry… I know you want to be alone right now, but I’m just going to say one last thing before I go, okay?” Celestia remained silent, and Jeremy took this as a cue to keep going. “I know things look tough right now. But I promise you, they will get better. I’m saying that from experience, I… I know what this is like. I’ve been here, I’ve felt something like what you’re feeling right now. And if you ever need someone to talk to, someone that won’t judge or treat you like a delicate, royal flower, or panic and overreact when you show signs of ‘dangerous behavior’… come find me, okay?” he pleaded.

Celestia squeezed her eyes shut, fresh tears welling up in the corners.

“Celestia?” Jeremy quietly asked, hoping he’d said something right.

To his shock, she leapt forward, pinning him to the bed as she reared her head forward to lock lips with his. Out of sheer reflex from kissing Chrysalis, Jeremy reciprocated, allowing her to kiss him before he realized what he was doing. Celestia’s eyes flew open, and her irises constricted to the size of pinpricks as she tore herself off of him.

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry, I – I – I – “ Celestia stammered. Jeremy, still flabbergasted from what had just occurred, remained silent. “I didn’t – mean it – please don’t be mad – “ Celestia whimpered, panicking.

Jeremy finally shook himself free of his dazed stupor, and held up a hand. “I’m not mad,” he answered with a faltering attempt at a smile. “But, um… I think I have… enough lovers… for now. N-not to imply that you’re not good enough for me! Seriously, you’re… uh… um… okay, look, to be honest, having two marefriends is already enough of a shock for me, and I genuinely don’t think I could handle a third, and it’s not because you’re objectively better or worse than they are it’s just that they came first and-“ Jeremy rambled.

He was stopped by Celestia placing a hoof to his lips. “It’s okay,” she whispered, smiling nervously back. “I understand. It was… just a foalish thought of mine. Really, I don’t blame you. Are we… are we friends?” she asked.

Jeremy slowly calmed down, taking a deep breath. “Yeah,” he answered. “’Course we are.”

Celestia looked down at the floor, still smiling slightly. “So… how’d you do it?” she asked quietly, taking a seat on the bed again.

“Do what?” Jeremy asked blankly.

“Get past… those four. And the System Defenses. And your clone, or whatever. And… me,” Celestia explained, looking glum as she whispered the last bit.

“And the old changeling King,” Jeremy added automatically.

“Yeah… so, how do you do it? How do you defeat your enemies… without ever attacking once?” Celestia asked again.

Jeremy gave a dry half-chuckle. “It’s a lot of work. Mostly dodging... and talking.” And dying, he added mentally. “Eventually I hit on something important enough to make them stop fighting, and then… I work on making them see that maybe fighting isn’t their best option.”

Celestia snorted in amusement. “Showing mercy, even on the battlefield… you really are an angel,” she muttered.

“I am not!” Jeremy retorted petulantly.

Celestia giggled. “So, Element of Love… who are you in love with?” she asked. “Queen Chrysalis, obviously, which… I’m still trying to wrap my head around. But you mentioned somepony else?” she asked curiously.

“Nightmare Moon,” Jeremy answered. “She’s… well, she’s a lot like you. Protective, caring… and really soft,” Jeremy recalled.

Celestia raised an eyebrow. “Really? I… I didn’t expect that,” she mumbled to herself.

Jeremy looked down at the ground. “She says that she’s the parts of Luna that Luna hates the most. Which… makes me a little worried. Sure, Luna’s the opposite of her. She’s super determined, adapting to modern customs, and refuses to show any weakness. But… if they really embody each other’s most polarized attributes, then…” Jeremy trailed off.

“You’re worried Luna’s evil,” Celestia realized.

“…A little. Is she?” Jeremy asked, looking at Celestia forlornly.

“To my knowledge… no. She’s my little sister, she’s about as evil as you are. But… considering how I turned out…” Celestia sighed.

“Ah… it doesn’t matter if she’s evil or good. If Nightmare Moon’s the worst part of her… how bad can she really be?” Jeremy wondered.

“So… what’s Nightmare Moon like in the bedroom?” Celestia asked, blushing and looking away a second later.

Jeremy, caught off guard, laughed. “It’s not like that! We’re… platonic lovers. Love without sex, and all that.”

Celestia raised an eyebrow, seemingly genuinely shocked at this development. “You’ve never… and she’s never…”

Jeremy shook his head. “Not with either of them, actually. Nightmare Moon just wants cuddles, and Chrysalis… well, Chrysalis has her own reasons.”

Celestia appeared openly flabbergasted at this point, her jaw dropping. “W…wow. You must have some impressive self-restraint,” she commented.

Jeremy rolled his eyes. “Ah, yes, the male has to be thinking about nothing but sex all the time,” he commented dryly.

Celestia’s ears splayed back. “Sorry… that was sexist,” she admitted.

“It’s fine, I’m not really offended. That culture exists on our planet as well,” Jeremy laughed. “But… it’s their bodies. Not mine. I don’t get the final say on anything they do with their bodies.”

Celestia nodded, smiling. “Wise words,” she agreed.

They sat there for a moment in silence, Jeremy laying down on the bed as he stared up at the ceiling.

“Am I a good kisser?” Celestia asked, after a while.

“I dunno. My first kiss was a week ago, don’t ask me,” Jeremy answered, smirking.

“Oh…” Celestia trailed off.

“In my opinion, you were fine. A bit forceful, but that’s understandable, all things considered,” Jeremy immediately added. “Have you… not kissed anyone else?”

Celestia sighed angrily. “I have, but every time I asked them, they immediately started scraping the floor with their noses, saying things like “the best in all the land!” and “none could possibly compare to your luscious lips!” It was sickening. That’s when I decided to stop trying to find love,” she muttered.

“Did they really say that?” Jeremy wondered, chortling. “That’s so cheesy. They should have said something like ‘it felt like hot chocolate, and a warm blanket, and being curled up with all your favorite stuffed animals.’ That would be much better,” he replied, laughing.

“That’s even cheesier, you dork!” Celestia shot back, laughing herself.

Jeremy looked over, and to his delight there was an unmistakable blush on Celestia’s cheeks. “And yet, it’s working,” he pointed out smugly.

“N-no it’s not!” Celestia replied haughtily, blushing even more. Jeremy laughed uproariously, and Celestia pouted at him.

There was another moment of silence, as Jeremy slowly calmed down from his fit of mirth. “Hah… Sorry about that. I tend to flirt a lot, it’s all in good fun,” he explained.

“I can tell,” Celestia muttered, rolling her eyes even as she smiled.

They looked away for a moment, Jeremy’s smile sliding off his face as he returned to his contemplations.

“Jeremy?” Celestia asked after a moment.

“Yeah?” Jeremy answered, glancing over at her.

“I… I was just… you might think I suddenly started feeling all of this, after being… ‘Daybreaker’. The truth is… I’ve been feeling like this for a very long time now.”

Jeremy considered her for a moment. “When do you think it started?” he asked, trying hard not to imitate the detached, clinical tone of a professional counselor.

“The day I banished my own sister to the moon,” Celestia whispered, lowering her eyes. “I… I should have listened to her. There were so many things, so many things I could have done, now that I think about it. I could have been there for her. I could have talked her out of it like you did for me, I… I could even have said yes! Given her her eternal night, just to make my little Lulu happy again! But no, I had to be prideful, and foalishly insist that there had to be balance, that her noticing all the citizens liking me more was ‘just her imagination,’ and… and… I banished my own sister,” she hoarsely whispered, crying bitterly. Jeremy gently and carefully placed a hand on her mane, stroking down her sinuous neck as she cried into the bedsheets.

“We all make mistakes, Celestia. Even you, even me. Nobody’s perfect,” Jeremy sighed.

Celestia snorted angrily. “You? Make mistakes?” she questioned incredulously.

“Yeah,” Jeremy quietly affirmed. He noted the absolute silence in his head, distinct from what was normally the background noise of a thousand changelings going about their daily business. “I… I used to be evil, once upon a time. I didn’t do anything dramatic, and I didn’t kill anyone. I was just a schoolyard bully, a little kid trying to assert my dominance in a world I believed was out to get me. But… oh, hell, that lack of murder wasn’t for lack of intent. If I had had the power, my younger self would have gladly cast the entire world into fire and storms, and all the people along with it,” he sadly remembered.

“W-what?” Celestia quietly asked.

“I… I was so angry when I was younger. I don’t know why, if it was some kind of chemical imbalance or something, I just… I just don’t know. But I definitely remember wanting to kill a lot of people, for… what amounted to very minor inconveniences.”

Celestia eyed him as though sizing him up for the very first time. “What changed? What… fixed you?” she asked, sounding curious… and possibly hopeful.

Jeremy snorted. “Part of it was just growing up. Sometimes, you have those moments where you realize everything you’ve ever done is stupid and it’s time to make a change. And part of it was Sam. He’s real good at convincing people not to be idiots,” Jeremy reminisced, smiling slightly.

Celestia smiled as well. “I think I just had one of those ‘moments’,” she agreed quietly.

“The change wasn’t immediate. I didn’t just suddenly stop doing bad things. I had my relapses, my moments of rage and intentional betrayal and who knows what else. But they became fewer and fewer. I wouldn’t say they’ve stopped altogether, because that would imply that I wouldn’t be doing anything stupid from here on out, and that’s just not how humans work,” he continued somberly. “And, lately… well, before I fell into Tartarus, at any rate, I was feeling kind of… hollow,” he added.

“Hollow?” Celestia asked. She didn’t sound curious anymore – now, she sounded as though she were quite familiar with the concept.

“Hollow. Like… a machine. Performing kind actions, and saying kind words, but not because I really mean them. Just because they’re in my programming, or something like that. Being with Chrysalis and her changelings has gone a long way towards fixing that, but I’m far too familiar with apathy for my own good.”

Celestia smiled sadly. “It would seem I too have become too intimate with that feeling of hollowness,” she murmured. “I spent a thousand years… faking being a Princess. Eventually, it just became…” she trailed off.

“Routine?” Jeremy supplied knowingly.

Celestia nodded. “Routine. Like… like I was a machine, carrying out the same functions, day after day. Even when I was raising Twilight Sparkle, even when I loved her with all my heart… I could never show my real face. I could never… stop. Just like how I imprisoned everyone in Tartarus, so too had I imprisoned myself, in a prison so perfect I could not even contemplate escape.”

Jeremy nodded. “It’s pretty insidious, sometimes, isn’t it?” he agreed. “You look back, and you just… wonder how things got so bad.”

Celestia sighed. “Indeed… how did I let things get so bad?” she whispered.

Another moment of silence, a lot longer this time. Jeremy closed his eyes, trying not to fall asleep in case Celestia asked something else.

How’s it going? Chrysalis contacted him after about a half hour in.

She’s okay, he reported. She was a little shaky at first, and she’s probably going to be that way for a while. But… we’re making progress.

Chrysalis projected a feeling of suspicion. I felt her kiss you, she pointed out.

Jeremy immediately panicked, eyes jolting open as his entire body went rigid. Thankfully, Celestia was too immersed in her own thoughts to notice much of anything at the moment.

No, no, wait, it's okay! I’m not mad or anything, but… do you love her? Chrysalis asked.

N… no! I don’t, Jeremy answered, a little too quickly.

Because it’s okay if you do, Chrysalis went on, sounding confused. I’d be happy to accept her into our relationship, even platonically.

Jeremy projected a feeling of immense frustration. I don’t… at least, not that much, he answered.

Is this about when you said having two marefriends was stressful? Chrysalis asked, sounding afraid.

Yes! No! I… ugh, look, humans are only supposed to have one. Two’s doable, maybe, but three is just ridiculous, Jeremy sent back.

Well, if you’re sure, Chrysalis reluctantly agreed.

“You’re very… different, than the other humans,” Celestia spoke up, ending Jeremy’s mental discussion.

“How so?” Jeremy asked.

“You’re… fearless, for one thing. No matter what I threatened you with, you never seemed… concerned for your own survival,” Celestia remarked.

Jeremy sighed. “That’s a common misconception. These past few weeks have been a near-constant state of terror and confusion.”

Celestia half-chuckled. “You’re also… really informal. Not that that’s a bad thing! All the other humans have been so polite to me, and that’s what they’re technically supposed to be doing, but… It reminds me of being at day court all the same. But you… I don’t think you even looked at the crown on my head,” Celestia wistfully recalled.

Jeremy snorted. “I think I see where you’re coming from. Every changeling in the hive either thinks I’m a perfect angel, no matter what dumb thing I do, or they remember the old King and thus are terrified when I so much as exist in their general direction.” At this point, he could hear a multitude of changelings crying out in protest already. “Well, maybe I’m exaggerating a little bit. Usually, a few hugs and an explanation seems to clear it up, but… I dunno, they’re pretty pervasive schools of thought. Can’t really blame them, judging by how long the old King was doing his thing.”

Celestia shifted uncomfortably. “So… the old King… he and Queen Chrysalis…” she began.

“I’d rather not get into that,” Jeremy cut her off. “It’s… not my story to tell.”

Celestia shifted again, away from him this time, and some used tissues fell onto the floor. “Oh. Alright,” she agreed, awkwardly looking away.

“To be honest, even I don’t know much about it. Not sure if I even want to know the full extent of what she went through,” Jeremy explained.

“I suppose it would sour your relationship,” Celestia remarked carefully.

Jeremy sighed. “…Someday, I might work up the courage to ask her about it,” he muttered, staring at the single lamp attached to the ceiling.

“...So… you’re supposed to be the Element of Love. The secret seventh Element. I have to say… you’re quite worthy of that title. I don’t think I’ve met a person quite so interesting since Star Swirl himself,” Celestia commented.

“Heh, thanks... I think. What are we even doing, anyway? I know we seven have been sent here to… fight stuff. But is that really it? Are we just getting super-powerful for no reason?” Jeremy wondered, recalling many similar human-in-Equestria fanfics from his time spent on various websites back home.

Celestia giggled quietly. “Not quite. If you’ll recall, upon completion of your training, you seven are to return to Earth, spreading the magic of friendship – and love, I suppose – to your fellow humans.”

Jeremy frowned. “Right. Earth…” he trailed off.

“Something wrong?” Celestia asked, sounding concerned.

Jeremy huffed a sigh. “It’s just… I wasn’t expecting we’d actually be able to return to Earth. When I convinced my friends to follow me, we all assumed we were just going to… make our new lives on the surface world. Going back home was… well, I’d convinced myself it was an impossibility.”

Celestia shifted again, the bed creaking slightly to accommodate her as her expression soured. “Well, to be honest… I haven’t quite been… honest with your human friends,” Celestia admitted.

Jeremy looked over at her. “How so?” he asked carefully.

“I’ve actually been… very… impolite to them. I didn’t… I didn’t know if I could really trust them, so I acted like… well, like how I normally acted,” Celestia muttered. “I told them that the odds of them being able to return home were truly slim, and only if they mastered their powers as the Elements of Harmony would they be capable of returning home.”

Jeremy remained silent, contemplating this. “And is that… not the case?” he asked after a moment.

Celestia sniffed slightly, her voice wavering as she scrunched her eyes shut. “N-no,” she answered, sounding as though she were about to cry again. “I tried opening a portal to their world the day after they came through. I accomplished it in less than ten minutes. I… I’m a terrible, lying, manipulative-“ she began, but Jeremy put a hand under her jaw and firmly closed it, startling her into silence.

“Tell them,” he ordered, and she mutely nodded.

His gaze softened. “I understand you want to give them an impetus to succeed. But that isn’t the way to do it, and we both know that,” he quietly reminded her.

Another mute nod.

Jeremy carefully released his hand from around her muzzle, and they gazed at each other in silence.

“You know… physically handling a Princess like that could be considered an act of war,” Celestia teased, mouth quirking up in a slight smile despite the sadness in her eyes.

“Oh dear. Whatever can I do to extend the olive branch of peace?” Jeremy dramatically replied, playing along as he slapped an arm to his forehead in a dramatic pose.

“Well, there is…” Celestia began seductively, but trailed off. “Um. Right. I… already… hmm,” she awkwardly realized. Jeremy suddenly recalled the kiss they had shared at the beginning of the conversation. It felt so long ago…

“Tell you what. You… really need to get out of this room. Why don’t you go down there, and tell the other humans the truth right now?” Jeremy suggested.

Celestia stiffened. “N-now? But I’m not- I can’t- I, I, I’m not dressed for it!” Celestia stammered, casting a glance at the lone shoe of hers that was still embedded in the wall.

“Perfect, you’ll be giving an informal impression,” Jeremy dismissed.

“I’m not ready!” Celestia cried, cowering on the bed.

“Celestia,” Jeremy began, laying a hand on her withers. She tensed, closing her eyes. “You have to do this sometime, you know that as well as I do. If you wait, you’ll put it off, and this feeling will get worse. But if you do it now… I promise you it won’t be as bad. I’ll be right there to back you up. Okay?” he tried.

Celestia cringed for a moment more. “…You promise?” she asked quietly.

“On my word as your friend, I will be there for you,” Jeremy affirmed.

Celestia slowly got to her hooves, stepping off the bed. “Okay,” she murmured, swaying unsteadily as she shook her head to clear it. “I can do this.”

They exited the room, and Jeremy was immediately struck by how fresh the air was out here. Had Celestia’s room really smelled so stale that he’d become accustomed to it? He silently walked by Celestia, hand still on her withers as she nervously looked around at the hallway. The clip-clop of her hooves drowned out the gentle taps of his bare feet against the cool stone, and Jeremy was once again reminded of just how little clothing he was wearing at the moment. Maybe he could ask someone where his clothes had gone? He really hoped someone hadn’t burned them – as damaged as they were, they were his only pair of clothes. And his favorite sweater.

They came to the spiral staircase, and Celestia hesitated for a moment, hoof poised to take the first step. “A-are you sure this will go well? I… I’ve been having some second thoughts about this, and maybe it would be better to wait, make sure everyone’s ready and-“ Celestia began, but Jeremy gazed directly into her eyes.

“Celestia,” he spoke sharply, and the word sent a shiver up her back, freezing her in place.

“Y-yes?” she replied, holding his gaze.

“Take a step,” he encouraged.

“What?” Celestia asked, looking at him in confusion.

“It’s just a step,” Jeremy replied, taking a step of his own to demonstrate. “See? Just a simple step. Sure, every step you take, you get closer and closer to your eventual fate, and it might not always look very pleasant. But if you stop looking for the bigger picture, stop seeing things as big and important and weighty, and start seeing everything as a series of steps… life becomes so much easier! Come on. Just take this one step,” Jeremy encouraged.

Celestia reluctantly did so.

“See? Easy! Now take another one,” he continued.

Celestia took another step, smiling slightly.

“You got it!” Jeremy urged.

He led her down the stairs, taking steps faster and faster to force her to keep up. Soon they were running down the spiral staircase, Celestia openly smiling for the first time in three days as she raced down the steps. Jeremy struggled to keep up, for now that Celestia was so enthusiastic about it she was easily outpacing him by sheer virtue of having four legs – and wings. Soon, he was taking two, then four, then eight steps down at a time, thoughtlessly jumping downward just to try and keep up with Celestia’s rapidly advancing figure.

Finally, they reached the bottom, and Celestia kept right on going, heading straight for the doors with no intent of stopping.

“Celesti-!” Jeremy called, but that was as far as he got. He slipped on the floor, unused to there not being a drop under his feet, and promptly crashed to the floor, dazed.

Meanwhile, Celestia had burst into the room, whereupon she was promptly greeted by the sight of everyone else staring at her. Realization at once dawned on her face, and she promptly froze, the smile sliding off of her face faster than water as she stared back, unable to speak. Jeremy achingly picked himself up, ignoring the tightness in his chest as he walked in after her.

“Hey everyone, I’m also in the room now,” he greeted casually to try and distract everyone from Celestia’s sudden entrance. The awkward silence continued, unfortunately, with Celestia looking around and hyperventilating slightly.

“Sister? Is that… you? You look so… small,” Luna commented uncertainly.

This, apparently, was the final straw, and Celestia instantly burst into tears. Immediately, Luna and Cadance rushed over to comfort her, bringing her gently over to where they had been sitting and whispering comforting things to her. Jeremy surveyed this with some satisfaction, and went to rejoin his other friends, keeping an eye on Celestia all the while just in case she needed his assistance.

“Wow. You were up there for hours,” Sam whispered as soon as he came within earshot. Jeremy took an exhausted seat beside his best friend, slowly regaining his breath from his earlier fall and slumping onto the floor next to Sam’s chair.

“Yeah, turns out years of guilt and self-hatred really isn’t good for one’s emotional wellbeing,” he quipped quietly. “Also, does anyone know where my clothes are?” he added a moment later, a hint of exasperation in his tone as he glanced pointedly at his hospital gown.

“They’re in your room, I’ll lead you to them,” Sam answered, quietly getting up and nodding at Twilight, who nodded back, dismissing him.

As it turned out, Jeremy’s temporary room in Twilight’s castle was just a few doors down from Celestia’s room. It was an exact duplicate of her room, but without the mess, and Jeremy looked around at the sparse living space. It wasn’t nearly as cozy as his old room in the Hive, but it was somewhere to stay nonetheless. His clothes were neatly folded and laying on his bed, and there was a note on top. Jeremy picked it up and read it.

“Dear Jeremy the Human,

I noticed your clothes had become rather worn from your time in Tartarus. So, I fixed them up for you, and added some spells to make them more resistant to damage! I tried to make them look exactly like they were before, so please let me know if I missed anything.

Sincerely,

Rarity”

Jeremy smiled, and glanced over at Sam, who was already stepping out of the room. Satisfied, he set about changing, casting the hospital gown carelessly to the floor as he slipped his old, familiar sweater on. Oh, how he had missed this thing! And now it wasn’t torn, burnt, frayed or damaged – it felt new, and warm. Like it had been freshly washed. Fully clothed, he took a moment to stretch, admiring the restored clothing. He’d really have to thank Rarity somehow. It was too bad he was missing his royal cape, which had presumably been destroyed during the battle against Daybreaker. Along with the rest of the Hive. Jeremy was suddenly shaken by an overwhelming sense of guilt – his choices had led to the destruction of the Hive, a building that had presumably stood since Queen Reduuva’s time. All that history, gone forever just because he had wanted to call Celestia out on her crimes. What kind of King was he?

To his surprise, Chrysalis chimed in. Don’t you dare think like that! she chastised. We can rebuild the Hive – we’re rebuilding it right now, actually. It’ll be better than it ever was, trust me.

Hundreds of changelings immediately voiced their agreement, a chorus of happy cheers resounding in his mind until Jeremy couldn’t help but smile.

You guys… really aren’t mad that I managed to destroy everything in the Hive? he wondered.

Of course not! one changeling spoke, and Jeremy recognized the voice as none other than Hemolymph, the nursery drone who had taken care of him after his initial fight with Princess Luna.

…Are you sure? He asked again.

Yes, we’re very sure, Chrysalis answered patiently. Besides, the Hive’s been destroyed before. I think this is something like the third time? she asked, and there was a chorus of mental confirmations. Don’t worry about it, and go make sure Celestia’s getting better, Chrysalis ordered. I’ll handle things over here.

Jeremy sighed. Alright… if you say so, he reluctantly agreed.

He re-entered the main room of Twilight’s castle to find that Celestia was in the middle of her announcement to the humans, and quietly took a seat in the back.

“-and, in short… I am sorry. I will try to be a better Princess, and not be… so…” Celestia trailed off.

“Manipulative?” Pinkie suggested, and Celestia flinched.

“Pinkie!” Applejack objected.

“No, that is the correct word, Applejack,” Celestia quietly agreed.

“Hey, it’s alright… I guess,” Sam attempted to comfort the solar diarch.

“So… can we talk to our families? Let them know we’re okay?” Brayden asked.

Celestia nodded. “Of course you may. I will arrange for letters to be sent as soon as possible. I apologize, but… letters are probably the best way to do it. If your parents knew I was placing you into dangerous situations, they’d… well, they’d do what parents are supposed to do,” Celestia tried to joke, a half-smile managing to tug at her lips.

The rest of the humans chuckled good-naturedly. “Yeah, that sounds okay. So, uh… I guess we should write those now?” Sam asked, looking around.

“I’ll get the quills and paper!” Twilight called, eagerly flying away with Spike reluctantly in tow.

“Does anyone here know how to use a quill?” Jeremy asked, to general laughter.

“Oh, come on! Even I know how to use a quill,” Rainbow Dash mocked.

A few minutes later, Twilight had returned with a pile of parchment, quills and inkwells, and instructed the humans on how to use them. Jeremy was currently staring at his blank paper, wondering what to say.

“Dear Mom and Dad,” he wrote. Well, it was a start. He rubbed the feathery quill against his chin, wondering what he could possibly say.

“I’m on another planet. You might know this already, or you might not. Hard to say, really. But yes, I’m on an alien world. It’s… nice, here. I’ve made some friends. Some lovers, too – yes, yes, I know, finally. Har har.

I can’t say much more without revealing some pretty important information. So… see you when I see you.

Love,

-Jeremy”

Jeremy looked up from scratching out his letter to find everyone else staring at him.

“You looked so serious when writing…” Sombra noted.

Jeremy shrugged. “It was a pretty serious letter.”

He rolled up the parchment and placed it in front of six similar-looking rolls, Twilight looking over them in apprehension.

“So, are you going to use a variant of the spell you placed on Spike?” she asked Celestia, who nodded as a warm, familiar smile came to her face.

“Of course,” Celestia answered. “The letters will appear instantly in front of their owners, just like our letters.”

At this, Twilight’s face soured slightly, and she fell silent. Celestia, seeing this, didn’t seem to know how to respond.

“Sister, are you ready?” Luna prompted after a moment of awkward silence.

“Oh! Right, yes, of course,” Celestia hastily answered, lighting her horn.

A swirling wormhole of yellow magic opened right on top of the Cutie Map, and the scrolls of parchment were sucked through, burning in flares of yellow as they turned into magical smoke that quickly disappeared into the rift in space. Once every last trace of magic had disappeared, the wormhole neatly closed itself, leaving the humans to stare in awe.

“So… you could do that the whole time,” Avery pointed out.

Celestia put her head in her hooves, and Luna glared at Avery.

“What? Just saying,” Avery defended.

“Leave her alone, Avery,” Jeremy chastised. “She’s got enough to think about already.”

Avery grumbled something else, but reluctantly obeyed.

They spent some time just sitting in the throne room of the castle. Conversations broke out, and were just as quickly suppressed. Nobody wanted to think about the events of three days ago, it seemed. Jeremy kept giving Celestia sympathetic glances, as she went back to being surrounded by Luna, Cadance, and even Nightmare Moon, each of whom whispered comforting things to her and gave the occasional pat on the back or sympathetic nuzzle.

Jeremy, meanwhile, was contemplating. Many things were on his mind: Celestia’s reformation, his own mortality, and the ever-present thought that he had created hundreds of doomed timelines. It was a terrifying thought... so terrifying, in fact, that he couldn't even bring himself to be afraid of it properly, because it was simply too big and overwhelming to grasp. He was just... thinking about it.

Finally, Starlight Glimmer made her way over to Jeremy, taking a seat beside him.

“Hello,” she greeted quietly.

“Hi,” Jeremy answered, looking at her curiously.

“You okay? You and Celestia were up there for a while, and we… well, we thought you had started fighting again,” Starlight admitted.

Jeremy snorted, gazing over at Celestia. “Nah. We’re past that.” He shifted his position. “As for me… I’ll be fine.”

Starlight looked at him strangely. “Okay… good to know. Um… this is kind of a weird question, but… what did you do to turn Chrysalis good? And, you know, all the others?” Starlight inquired. Jeremy looked around to find that everyone had suddenly started paying attention. Of course they had – they still thought he was some kind of perfect angel. He looked at the floor, trying to find the answer there, and finally looked back at Starlight.

“I’m assuming you ask because you think I did something amazing, some kind of ‘magic bullet’ that made her want to be good suddenly. I didn’t,” he flatly denied.

Starlight cocked her head. “Then…?” she asked softly.

“She was broken, Starlight. First her husband, the old King, hidden in the shadows as he hurt her again, and again, and again. Then, her own Hive, asking where was the food, where was the happy ending she had promised them, what was she doing. Then… all of Equestria, vilifying her and all of her kind when she was just trying to survive. When I found her in Tartarus… she was broken beyond anything I’d ever seen. Her love for anything, even herself… gone. Her sanity… on its way out. All she had left were memories of her own failure, memories that were scratched on every wall as she wrote away months of her life. It was... it was terrifying, to see what she had been reduced to,” Jeremy dully explained to the silence of the room. “I’ve been trying to put her back together. One piece at a time. To make her see that there’s light in her life, and hope, and her dreams aren’t that far away from reality. And that’s all I can do,” Jeremy finished softly. “I can’t make her magically better, can’t erase the pain. I can only put a bandage over the wound, and hope that helps,” he muttered.

He looked up at Starlight again, to find that she was slowly shifting away from him, a horrified expression on her face.

“What? You all thought I was some kind of angel? Some perfect being, who only sees sunshine and rainbows everywhere he looks?” Jeremy asked, a hint of anger coming to his face. “I told you. I’m not. I can’t do the impossible – I don’t even know how I managed to get this far.” Not technically true, he mused as soon as he said it. I know exactly how I managed to get this far.

Starlight was about to say something else, but at that moment the door slammed open. Chrysalis strode inside, trotting up to Jeremy with a practiced air. Without even a single hesitation, she slammed her mouth into his, lips locking as she passionately kissed him, causing his chair to topple over backwards as she pinned him to the floor. Once she was finished, she pulled away, glaring at him.

“You might not be a perfect person,” she announced to the group at large. “But you’re the closest thing I’ve ever seen. Just because you can’t do impossible things doesn’t mean you’re not worth anything to me!”

Jeremy sighed, sitting up. “I know,” he muttered back.

Chrysalis picked him up with surprising strength, sitting the chair back upright with her magic as she climbed into his lap. “You have accomplished things that Twilight Sparkle couldn’t do. Face it, you’re amazing. Say it. Say you’re amazing!” she demanded.

“I’m amazing,” Jeremy obediently responded, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

“Now say ‘I’m never going to feel self-pity again, because I’m the last person that ever should,'” Chrysalis continued.

Jeremy chuckled slightly. “I’m never going to feel self-pity again, because I’m the last person that ever should,” he replied, smiling.

“Now say ‘Chrysalis is the most sexy, beautiful-“ Chrysalis tried, but couldn’t keep a straight face, and began laughing. The tension in the room was broken, and everyone laughed along with her, Jeremy included. As the laughter died down, Jeremy cleared his throat, looking at Chrysalis with a grin on his face.

“Chrysalis is the most sexy, beautiful changeling in existence, and I’m glad she’s my marefriend,” he finished, grinning at her. Chrysalis blushed green, and Cadance whistled in appreciation from behind Celestia. “Thank you, girl, I really needed that,” Jeremy sighed, tousling Chrysalis’ hair.

“I could tell. You need less time to yourself, if that’s where your thoughts start going,” she chided, leaning into his hand.

“Heh. I don’t think I’ve had a single real moment to myself since… well, since before I somehow landed in Equestria,” Jeremy mused.

“Really? Dude, you must be exhausted. You got tired after a few hours of interaction back home,” Sam pointed out.

Jeremy shrugged helplessly. “With all the fighting and kingly responsibility, I don’t think I’ve really had a moment to consider it. But now that you mention it… yeah, I could really use a nap.”

Chrysalis immediately laid down on the floor, which Jeremy recognized as his cue to lay down with her. Shrugging, he did so, using her belly as a pillow as he folded his hands over his chest, closing his eyes. To his surprise, nobody commented – maybe they were letting him take a nap? That was nice of them…

Chapter 7

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

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

“Nightmare Moon?” Jeremy asked quietly.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Like what?” Jeremy asked curiously.

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

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

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

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

They entered the dining hall to find dinner well underway.

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

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

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

Chrysalis sighed. “Fine,” she answered moodily.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Hey!” Twilight immediately objected.

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

“Interesting,” Jeremy noted.

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

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

Chrysalis rolled her eyes, and returned to her meal.

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

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

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

“No…” Twilight replied uncertainly.

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

“That’s disgusting!” she exclaimed.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jeremy mentally sighed in relief.

What happened? Chrysalis asked sharply.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ooohh. Clever, very clever, Jeremy returned.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“If you must,” Nightmare Moon agreed.

“Do we have to?” Sombra complained.

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

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

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

“I’m not hungry,” Tirek called back.

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

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

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

“What?” Jeremy asked.

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

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

“Loyalty,” Avery answered.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Snuggle pile,” Jeremy agreed.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Dear Jeremy, and whoever else reads this,

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

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

I just have to.

-Lord Tirek

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jeremy gave a semi-interested hum.

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

Jeremy was suddenly very interested in the conversation.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Hey, remember these?” he asked.

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

“What is that, anyway?” Chrysalis wondered.

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

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

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

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

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

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

“What a wonderful portrait!” Nightmare Moon admired.

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

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

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

“That’s what?” she asked.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Chrysalis chuckled. “Agreed,” she ribbed.

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

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

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

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

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

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

For what? Jeremy wondered.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Could I what?” Jeremy asked, lost.

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

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

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

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

Chapter 8

He woke up to find sunlight streaming in through the windows, Celestia still fast asleep. Nightmare Moon was staring down at her solar counterpart, petrified as Celestia nuzzled the taller alicorn in her sleep. Chrysalis watched with a smirk, and once she saw he was awake, she looked at Jeremy for an explanation.

“She came in during the night. Needed cuddles, apparently. Pretty cute, huh?” Jeremy remarked.

Chrysalis softly laughed. “She loves you,” the changeling queen informed him, and Jeremy grimaced.

“Yeah… I know. It’s… complicated.”

Chrysalis raised an eyebrow. “Why is three marefriends any more difficult than two?” she wondered.

Jeremy sighed. “A couple reasons. First, like I said, humans are only supposed to have one. I was trained all my life to believe that I would only get one life partner, if that. Having two is alright, but only because you two don’t really demand that much out of me. Hell, we’ve only ever been on a single real ‘date’ – and that was at the Heart of the Moon. Having three… well, at that point it’s obvious that I’m taking on more responsibility than I’m capable of handling.”

Chrysalis nodded, interested. “How many dates do human partners go on?” she asked curiously.

Jeremy shrugged. “Never had one. From what I remember, it’s whenever they want, which is fairly often – maybe once a week to once a month. The guy takes the girl out to a movie, or a restaurant, or something, or maybe just hangs out at one of their houses.”

Chrysalis nodded again, a thoughtful expression on her face. “So, if you were trying to live up to romantic standards back home, you’d have to go on three times as many dates,” she conjectured.

Jeremy nodded. “Or the same amount of dates with three times as much stress involved. Gotta make sure all of you are having fun, after all.”

Chrysalis pondered this. “I see. Well, I suppose that makes sense… still, I think you should talk with her about it.”

Jeremy sighed. “To be honest, I think she has some kind of crush on me because I ‘saved’ her. That part in the fairy tale where the damsel in distress swoons over the gallant knight who has rescued her, something like that. Except that’s not the kind of love that can sustain itself – it’s more passion than anything else.”

Chrysalis looked at him in surprise. “I wasn’t going to say it, but you’re right – her love is mostly passion,” she revealed. Jeremy considered this.

“You’re probably right,” Celestia spoke up, startling all three of them. Jeremy whipped his head around to find her awake and staring at him sympathetically. She smiled at Jeremy sadly. “Maybe it is because you ‘saved’ me. But… another part of it is that once you did, you never really treated me like a ‘princess.’ You never bowed, never got scared, or treated me as inherently superior. When I was considering ending my life, you never spoke once of my duties and responsibilities as Princess… but merely of the loss to my friends. It seems like, to you, I’m just… another pony. Just a friend, not a Princess. And that’s something nopony else has ever done, even when I asked them to. It’s… I can’t get enough of it,” Celestia admitted.

For a moment, Jeremy didn't know what to say. He chuckled awkwardly, shifting in the bed. “I… to be honest, the reason why I don’t treat anyone differently is that I genuinely don’t care what their position in life is. They’re all just… people, you know?Sometimes that attitude makes people like me, sometimes it rubs them the wrong way because I don’t respect them enough, or something.”

Celestia giggled. “Well, I think it’s a wonderful approach to life,” she soothed.

“So… doth this mean that thou shalt join us in romance?” Nightmare Moon wondered.

Celestia blushed and looked away. “I understand if you’re having doubts about your capability, Jeremy,” she began, addressing him instead of Nightmare Moon. “Just so you know, I think you’re more than capable. You are the Element of Love, after all. But if you don’t feel up to it, then I won’t pressure you. It’s your choice, after all.”

Jeremy sighed. “Thanks… a lot,” he murmured in relief.

“And… I think my answer is ‘no,’” Celestia added, returning her gaze to Nightmare Moon. “It would not be fair to simply insert myself into your love lives, nor would it be politically tenable.”

Chrysalis smirked. “She says, while cuddling us for all she’s worth,” the changeling queen snidely pointed out.

Jeremy chuckled appreciatively, and Celestia blushed with a nervous giggle. “True… but that’s different! I was just hoping maybe I could… join the ‘cuddle pile’ every now and then…?” she asked, hooves tapping together in a slightly pleading expression. Jeremy, Chrysalis and Nightmare Moon looked at each other, and it was decided.

“I don’t see why not,” Jeremy agreed. “Cuddle piles only get better with size.”

Celestia nodded appreciatively, and nuzzled him on the cheek. “Thank you. Er… does anyone know what time it is?” she asked curiously.

Jeremy shrugged. “Is there a clock in here?” he asked, looking around.

Nightmare Moon dismissed this with a shake of her head. “No need. It be sixteen minutes past eight in the morn.”

Celestia immediately paled in alarm. “Eight sixteen?! I need to go raise the sun! Thank you again, bye!” she cried, springing up and dashing off.

“Isn’t the sun already up?” Jeremy wondered, looking at the window above them where sunlight was still streaming through.

Chrysalis shook her head. “That’s an illusion. This corridor is untethered from physical space, remember? Discord and Luna probably put it there to make you aware of the passage of time.”

Jeremy grimaced. “Is there any way to turn it back to the ‘night’ setting? Preferably permanently?” he asked, shielding his eyes from the sunlight.

Nightmare Moon looked down at him smugly. “Art thou asking… for night eternal?” she pretended to wonder, and Chrysalis burst out laughing as Jeremy nodded, playing along.

“Quick, somepony get a hold of Twilight!” he added as Nightmare Moon hooted in laughter.

“I bet Celestia would get a kick out of that,” Chrysalis snarked, lightly pushing him.

Jeremy snorted. “I wasn’t going to say this in front of her, but another big reason I can’t have three marefriends is because it reminds me too much of all the fanfictions humans wrote about this world where they seduced every character that laid eyes on them and started harems.”

Nightmare Moon suddenly tried to stifle an explosive fit of the giggles.

Chrysalis stuck her tongue out in disgust. “What’s a ‘harem’?” she asked. Nightmare Moon blushed as Jeremy explained, and by the time he was done all three of them were blushing furiously.

“Yeah… Two of you doesn’t count, at least in my eyes. Three of you would be a proper harem,” Jeremy explained.

Nightmare Moon smirked. “And yet, thou wouldst not hesitate to flirt when it pleaseth thee,” she jabbed, and Jeremy’s blush deepened even further.

“Only for a laugh!” he defended.

Chrysalis looked at him skeptically. “You only flirt when you’re joking? Seems rather counterintuitive,” she pointed out, grinning.

“At least that way I don’t end up with fifty suitors at my doorstep! If this is what being the Element of Love is going to be like, then being the Element of Love sucks!” Jeremy burst out, unsure whether he was being serious or not.

Chrysalis burst out laughing. “Back in the old days, I would kill for fifty suitors banging at my door. All that food…” Chrysalis trailed off wistfully, licking her lips.

Nightmare Moon rolled her eyes. “Verily, we hath had more than fifty suitors at our door. They ended up dueling each other in a massive tournament for the right to ask our hoof in romance.”

Jeremy chuckled uneasily. “Who won?” he asked curiously.

“None of them won,” Nightmare Moon scoffed. “We grew so weary of them treating us as a trophy to be coveted that we hadst the lot teleported out of the castle.”

Jeremy hummed in agreement. “See, that’s what I’m afraid of. For every new lover I get, I have to make sure I’m treating them right – not as another addition to ‘the collection,’” Jeremy explained, air-quoting the last bit as he finally hopped out of bed, getting dressed. “And there’s only so many lovers for which I can actually make that happen. One’s fine, two’s pushing it, three’s right out.” Chrysalis reluctantly followed, leaving Nightmare Moon alone on the bed.

“Coming with me to breakfast?” Jeremy asked, glancing at the pair of them.

“May as well. I’m curious to see what other ‘foods’ taste like,” Chrysalis explained.

“We shalt remain behind,” Nightmare Moon declined. “After all, somepony must reconfigure this illusory spell to thy liking.”

Jeremy smiled appreciatively at her. “Thank you. Also, you should talk to some of the other humans, most of them have watched the show. You’re practically a celebrity.”

Nightmare Moon smirked. “Perhaps I shall. Away with thee, before thy body submits formal complaint of sustenance,” she shooed, an obsidian hoof waving imperiously in the direction of the door.

Jeremy laughed, obediently leaving the room, and Chrysalis followed, snorting. “What did she even just say? I didn’t get it,” the changeling queen complained.

“She said ‘go get food, you’re hungry,’” Jeremy explained. He looked around. “Where are the other humans?” Jeremy wondered. The doors were all closed, so either everyone was still asleep or they were already out somewhere.

“Maybe they’re at the dining hall?” Chrysalis questioned, looking at the other doors in the hallway, which were all closed. “Or maybe they’re just still asleep… Well, whatever. The dining hall should be open now,” Jeremy dismissed.

They arrived at the dining hall, Jeremy blearily rubbing his eyes as Chrysalis looked around curiously at all the various types of food. At first, nobody reacted, either too focused on their food or too tired to care. However, this was soon to change when Chrysalis bumped into a noblepony who was returning to his section of the table.

“Oh! Excuse me, ma’aaaAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!” the unicorn stallion screamed, realizing who he had just bumped into. “CHANGELING ATTACK! GUARDS! HELP!” the panicked noble screamed, pushing past anyone and everyone in his way in his attempt to escape. Nearby ponies shied away from Chrysalis, who held out a hoof in a shocked and pleading manner.

“Wait, I didn’t-! I wasn’t going to-!” Chrysalis stuttered. She trailed off, however, when it became clear that this wasn’t working, the ponies closest to her inching backward in fright as she approached.

“HALT!” a voice thundered, crashing through their eardrums, and everyone flinched as Princess Cadance swooped over the audience, landing in front of Chrysalis with a glare.

“I didn’t do anything! I just touched one of them accidentally!” Chrysalis pleaded, looking horrified.

Cadance looked at her, and her expression softened. “It’s alright,” she replied, giving her changeling counterpart a shaky smile. She turned to the rest of the dining hall guests. “Queen Chrysalis is here on our behalf. She is learning the magic of friendship, and as such is not to be treated in such a manner. She is a guest of this castle,” Cadance emphasized.

“Her? A guest?!” one unicorn immediately scoffed. “Remember the last time she was here as a ‘royal guest?’”

Cadance and Chrysalis shared a grimace as they recalled the last time the pair of them had been in Canterlot together.

“T-that’s different!” Cadance replied.

“She’ll only hurt us, just like last time! She’s not a good pony!” another cried.

“She’s a monster!” another chimed in.

“ENOUGH!” a second voice roared, this time with enough force to physically blow back the nearby ponies.

Princess Luna stepped forward, the ponies closest to her frantically bowing and moving out of the way as she joined Cadance, turning to face the dining hall. “Are you not familiar with history?! Look at yourselves! Dismissing a creature as beyond our help when she is clearly asking for it! Are you so willing to revisit the events of Discord’s reign? Or how about Nightmare Moon’s?!” Luna thundered, shocking the audience speechless.

“Nobody is beyond our help!” Cadance added. “No changeling, no monster, nobody is too far gone for the magic of friendship!” The Princess of Love looked back at the pair of them, to find Jeremy beaming with pride and Chrysalis giving her a furtive smile.

“Agreed!” Princess Twilight called out, teleporting onto the scene with a bright flash of purple magic. “Queen Chrysalis is not the same changeling who attacked Canterlot. She is not the same changeling who foalnapped the Princesses and I. She is already a much better pony than I ever expected she could be!” Twilight lectured.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Chrysalis grumbled under her breath to Jeremy, who quietly chuckled back.

“Just roll with it, she means well,” he whispered back.

“S-she won’t hurt us?” a unicorn near the back questioned, still sounding scared.

“No,” a fourth voice spoke up, quiet yet somehow resounding through the hall. “She won’t.” Jeremy and Chrysalis turned around.

Princess Celestia strode into the hall, giving Jeremy a friendly nudge as she passed by him before taking her place at the center of the other three alicorns. “She has learned from no less than a master of friendship, her own groom, King Jeremy.” At this, Jeremy blushed furiously and looked away.

Master of Friendship? Is she serious? he sent to Chrysalis.

Just roll with it, she means well, Chrysalis snarkily returned, and Jeremy had to suppress giggles.

“For those of you who do not remember, until recently all four of us were visiting Queen Chrysalis’ Hive. Perhaps it is time for me and my sister to explain what, precisely, occurred during our stay,” Celestia decreed, looking at Luna.

“When we first arrived at the Hive, I was fully expecting an attack,” Princess Luna began. “After all, the greatest threats Equestria had ever known were all concentrated in that one spot, and who knows what four such evil minds may have created? Thus, I prepared myself for battle. But when the first changelings appeared, they did not speak a word to us, nor did they disguise themselves or any other act of deceit. They simply led us to the Hive’s doorstep, refusing to engage with us at all. Fearing a trap, I braced myself, only to find that the King and Queen had presented themselves right then and there, devoid of any sign of treachery or duplicity. Still fearing a trick, I chose to attack them.”

The assorted audience waited on bated breath for the next part of the story.

“I fought the King, who had sent Queen Chrysalis inside for her own safety. He allowed himself to be defeated by me, refusing to fight back even when he was on the verge of death,” Luna continued, and the crowd gasped.

Oh no, not death, Jeremy thought sarcastically.

Shut up, you, I’m enjoying this, Chrysalis snarked right back.

“Celestia managed to turn me back before I could inflict mortal injury upon him, though in her struggle to prevent me from spearing him with a magical construct of mine, I accidentally launched the spear. It sailed through the air, headed directly for one of the very Guards I had chosen to accompany us…” Luna paused for effect.

“The Changeling King took the spear with his own body.”

The audience gasped, a few glancing toward Jeremy’s chest in horror. He simply continued to stare at Luna, waiting for her to continue.

“The King was taken inside to recover, whereupon the Queen, having returned, furiously asked why I’d been so compelled to murder her love. It was then that I realized that my prior assumptions about this group no longer applied. Something indeed had happened to them in Tartarus, and they were changed as a result.”

“An hour later, we adjourned to the inside of the Hive, once again not accosted by any changeling or villain,” Celestia spoke up. “It was there that we learned of the King’s status as the Element of Love, a human counterpart to our own Princess Cadance and Shining Armor. We also learned of the stories of each of these four villains, and why they had been compelled to do the terrible things they did. I will not repeat them here, for the sake of keeping your food warm, but they were not as purely evil as their actions may have implied. And there, the King finally showed his true agenda,” Celestia trailed off, looking at Jeremy uncertainly.

Wait, what? Jeremy wondered.

Um… Chrysalis agreed.

“He had gone to all this effort, explained so much, all to teach me. Having learned of my sins in Tartarus, he had taken it upon himself to expose me and all that I had done.” Celestia paused a moment to sniff slightly, Luna placing a comforting wing around her. “I… I attacked him, as well. I believed that I was in the right, that I had been doing the right thing down there in Tartarus. He knew otherwise, and proved it to me amidst the heat of battle.”

The literal heat of battle, I might add, Jeremy commented.

“Despite everything, despite every evil I had done, he still refused to fight back. He defended himself and his kind, with a skill and grace I have not seen in centuries,” Celestia went on, an odd light coming to her eyes. “Even after I exhausted my every magical skill on him, even with the imminent threat of death looming before him, he wouldn’t give up on me. Even after I attacked him with the might of the Sun itself, he still refused to even consider me a foe – only someone who was in need of his help.”

This is getting weirdly praise-filled, Jeremy remarked uneasily.

Still the ‘damsel in distress,’ hmm? Chrysalis replied.

“He has done this for many of Equestria’s foes, and succeeded. They are of no threat to us, so long as we treat them with the respect and love they deserve – that they have always deserved. When you are tempted to fear, to hate, please remember the example of King Jeremy. Choose love, not fear,” Celestia pleaded. There was a moment of silence. Then, a single pony began stamping his hooves on the floor, in what Jeremy recognized as their equivalent of ‘clapping.’ He also recognized the pony: Night Light, Twilight Sparkle’s father. Another followed suit – Prince Blueblood, to his surprise. Then another. Suddenly, the whole dining hall was stamping with such enthusiasm that the building shook, and Celestia hid a blush behind her wing, a pleased grin on her face as her subjects cheered.

As the cheering slowly died down, the assorted ponies of the dining hall resumed their business, and the four alicorns turned to face the pair of them.

“What are you doing up so early? Sam informed me the usual time for breakfast for your kind was at least ten in the morning, not eight-thirty,” Celestia wondered.

“Ten? Lazy schmuck. It really depends on when we get up. My breakfast is usually around seven-thirty, because I have class after that,” Jeremy explained.

“You are still in school? You look rather old for it,” Luna observed.

“University,” Jeremy explained. “Besides, I’m only in my twenties. Still plenty of time for education.” Twilight laughed appreciatively.

“I was going to make the announcement about your friends’ return after breakfast… but I suppose that is no longer necessary,” Celestia mused.

“Whoops, sorry. My sleep schedule hasn’t exactly fared well in the Hive – there are no clocks,” Jeremy noted dryly.

“That, and all the injury-induced comas you keep putting yourself into,” Chrysalis teased.

“Meh, it’s a hobby,” Jeremy joked, and Celestia giggled uncomfortably. “So, how was your morning, Celestia?” he asked, taking a seat near the head of the table as the others followed suit.

“…A little better. Turns out Luna raised the sun for me, so I spent the morning answering questions as to why I am suddenly a head shorter than normal, and why my hair isn’t rainbow-colored,” Celestia answered.

“Are those really the most pressing questions they had?” Jeremy asked, raising an eyebrow.

Celestia rolled her eyes. “My public appearance has not changed for over fifteen hundred years. According to most of them, it’s a very big deal.”

Chrysalis scoffed. “Ponies. Always so concerned with appearances,” she snorted.

“Well, not all of us can be gorgeous all the time,” Jeremy instantly replied, and Chrysalis blushed emerald green as Cadance began laughing.

“Good one!” she complimented Jeremy, and Jeremy gave her a thumbs-up. Cadance looked at it in confusion.

“Some of the humans have done that gesture before. What does it mean?” Luna asked.

Jeremy raised an eyebrow. “A thumbs-up refers to whatever appropriate positive response best fits the situation – in this case, it’d be ‘Thanks.’ There’s also a thumbs-down, but it’s rarely used,” he explained. Twilight, true to form, was already taking notes.

“That makes sense… I suppose,” Celestia thought aloud.

“Human customs are very strange, sometimes,” Luna added.

Jeremy snorted with laughter. “Aliens from another planet don’t conform to societal norms – more shocking news to follow,” he quipped. Chrysalis started laughing, the others chuckling politely.

“That reminds me… Jeremy, we have not scanned you into the Monitor yet, have we?” Celestia asked.

“Scanned me in?’ No, I don’t think so,” Jeremy replied, raising an eyebrow.

“What does the scan do?” Chrysalis asked, looking at her suspiciously. Jeremy caught a glimpse of her thoughts – strangely, she was thinking about Harmony Labs, down in Tartarus.

“It’s painless,” Celestia quickly assured them, apparently catching on to Chrysalis’ suspicions. “It simply depicts your statistics in a simplified manner – overall health, attacking power, speed, magical capabilities, and so on. As you might have heard earlier, there are also several more obscure variables that we have yet to determine the nature of.”

Jeremy nodded, already uncomfortable at the mention of the RESET and SAVE abilities. “Well, we should probably go do that after breakfast, then,” he agreed.

“Very well. Let us break our fast, then!” Luna eagerly suggested, trotting quickly over to the food table. Celestia sighed, watching her sister with a small smile on her face. With a knowing look at Chrysalis, Jeremy headed over as well, already eager to see what Canterlot’s finest chefs had prepared for the morning.

To his surprise, there was what appeared to be a table full of meat products, which nearby ponies were mostly avoiding. “Why is that there?” he curiously asked Luna, pointing it out.

She swallowed a piece of cantaloupe she had been avidly consuming, examining the table. “We are receiving some royal ambassadors from the Griffon Lands in a short time, and as such many griffons have already moved into Canterlot temporarily. To accommodate this, we have magically provided appropriate food and drink for them.”

True enough, a finely-dressed griffon chose just that moment to saunter by, picking over the selection of meats with a predatory glint in his eyes and a pleased smile on his face.

“Humans eat meat, correct?” Luna asked, watching this.

“Yeah… We haven’t had to hunt in a long while, though. Mass industrialized production of food saw to that.”

Luna nodded, seemingly uncomfortable. “Yes… well… you are welcome to those foods as well. See you at the table!” she hastily excused herself, trotting away.

Jeremy, watching her go, shrugged and began to pick out some adequate breakfast foods. For once, he chose a bunch of vegetables – not out of any desire to remain healthy, but simply because he was too tired to select much other than what he had already been eating.

He returned to the gigantic table, walking along its length and feeling as though he were skirting the outside of a sports stadium. Ponies and griffons chattered aimlessly, though the ponies were showing some apprehension of the griffons, who tore at the strips of meat with their beaks as though nothing was wrong. Finally, Jeremy returned to the head of the table, plate piled high with food.

“So, wait. You, the pacifist, eat the flesh of other creatures?” Chrysalis immediately questioned.

Jeremy shrugged. “Last I checked, this creature is already dead. Refusing to eat it would literally be adding insult to injury.”

Celestia cocked her head. “But perhaps you advocate for healthier treatment of ‘livestock’ back home? I seem to recall Nick mentioning that as an issue,” she remembered.

Jeremy shook his head. “Nothing I could’ve done would have changed any of that. Maybe now that I have some kind of magic, I could go in there and force the issue… maybe. As far as humanity’s problems go, that one’s pretty low-priority.” At this, the alicorns at the table subtly shifted in their seats, unmistakably more interested in the conversation. Even Chrysalis was giving him a curious look.

“Just what are humanity’s problems, anyway?” Luna asked.

Jeremy raised an eyebrow. “Why… do you want to know?” he asked carefully.

“None of the other humans will talk about it. We were hoping you could give us an insight as to why,” Celestia answered.

Jeremy looked uncomfortably around the table, hoping to find some form of escape from the awkward conversation. “Uh… To be honest, I don’t feel qualified to talk about it either. Maybe speak with all of us humans together, so that nobody can give a biased picture?” Jeremy suggested.

Celestia looked disappointed. “Very well… though, considering their reluctance, I doubt we will make much headway,” she sighed.

“Are humans evil?” Cadance bluntly asked, causing Luna to drop her fork in surprise and Celestia to glare at her niece. “What? That’s what we wanted to ask, we might as well drop the pretense,” Cadance defended.

“Well…” Jeremy trailed off, drawing the attention of the conversation back to him as he considered this. “I don’t think humans are really evil. Rarely does any human make a conscious choice to do hurtful things. It’s just… people make very unempathetic choices, sometimes. We’re more selfish than evil, in a sense. And all those little, selfish acts… add up to some pretty big problems,” Jeremy admitted glumly.

“It sounds as though you are unhappy with your kind,” Luna shrewdly observed.

Jeremy sighed. “Well, I’m not… I don’t hate them,” he clarified. “But… they could do a little better.” Celestia nodded wisely, saying nothing, and they resumed their meal.

“…Can I try some of the meat?” Chrysalis asked after a moment.

“Oh? Sure,” Jeremy allowed.

Chrysalis selected a piece of meat curiously, the others looking on with varying expressions of revulsion etched onto their faces, and she placed it in her mouth. Almost immediately, Chrysalis spat it out, looking greener than usual.

“That tastes disgusting!” she complained, wiping her tongue with a napkin.

Jeremy, watching her antics, raised an eyebrow. “Are you okay?” he asked.

“I’m fine, but how do you stand that? It was like… I don’t even know what it was like, except that it was horrible!” Chrysalis dramatically answered.

“Um. It’s not… that bad? Not to me, at least,” Jeremy answered. “Maybe you tasted the emotion of whatever creature that was made from, just before it died?” he theorized after a moment.

“That meat was made entirely from magic, replicated from the muscle of a willing cow. The sow was in no pain for the entire process,” Luna informed him.

Jeremy considered this thoughtfully. “Maybe… hmm. I guess you just don’t like meat, then,” he noted with just a hint of dismay.

“Is that a problem?” Chrysalis asked, seemingly reading his expression. “No… but it is going to make going out with you to restaurants a bit harder,” Jeremy noted.

“Not really. Shiny loves garlic, and I hate it, but we still get along fine whenever we go out to eat,” Cadance informed him.

“Yeah, but unless Shining is some sort of fascinating mutant pony, he doesn’t need garlic to survive,” Jeremy retorted. Twilight snorted into her drink, unable to suppress a grin, and Cadance giggled into her waffles.

As the meal drew to a close, Celestia stood up, one look at Jeremy reminding him of what he needed to do. Chrysalis followed him out of the room, Twilight electing to tag along after a moment of hesitation. They arrived in the throne room, Celestia trotting over to the Monitor with a strange urgency. She flipped through a few screens, sighing with relief after a moment before turning to him.

“Please, stand in front of the Monitor with your arms at your sides,” she instructed. Jeremy complied, feeling as though he were passing through the security checkpoint at an airport. Celestia tapped a button, Chrysalis watching in anticipation, and a green laser surface emitted from the bottom of the Monitor, moving upward as it apparently scanned him. As soon as it finished, the Monitor beeped once, and returned to the screen Jeremy had seen it on earlier. To his surprise, he was now depicted as well, a small pixelated version of him drawn just below Cory. Celestia tapped his picture, and statistics scrolled across the screen.

“Your health is currently at maximum. Your energy is very low, but it’s morning, so that’s normal,” Celestia muttered, examining each number. “Battle Statistics… let’s see. Attack… zero? You have no attacking capability?” Celestia questioned incredulously.

Jeremy shrugged. “Well, I am a pacifist,” he reminded her.

“I suppose… Anyway. Defense… a full 10 out of 10. Presumably, that balances your low Attack,” Celestia pondered.

“You always were good at dodging, honey,” Chrysalis added with a knowing grin, and Jeremy scratched behind her ear as he chuckled agreeably.

“Speed, 7 out of 10. Most humans are around 3 or 4 – do you run faster than other humans?” Celestia asked. Jeremy shook his head.

“I’m actually pretty slow at running, but my walking speed is nearly twice as fast as other humans, so that’s reasonable.” Chrysalis laughed again.

“Jeremy can hardly run at all – remember when you were running after Sombra?” she teased.

Jeremy crossed his arms and looked away, embarrassed. “I wasn’t that slow!” he pouted.

Celestia chuckled. “Luck… 1 out of 10. That is… quite low. Most humans have Luck of somewhere around 5 to 6,” she compared, ears flicking in dismay. Jeremy and Chrysalis looked at each other, their earlier mirth diminished by this fact.

With Luck like that… no wonder I die so much, Jeremy noted. Chrysalis didn’t respond.

“Accuracy… 2. Another low value…” Celestia muttered, a trace of worry on her face.

“Just two? How accurate are other humans?” Jeremy asked. “No average would truly describe the six measured thus far – they are too widely distributed,” Celestia answered. She tapped the Monitor again, and a new screen was displayed.

“Secret Stats?” Jeremy read curiously.

“These, according to the instruction manual I received, are unique to the human measured. For instance, Sam has a ‘Secret Stat’ of ‘HP,’ which… you appear to also have. How strange,” Celestia muttered.

“HP stands for ‘Health Points,’ back on my world…” Jeremy noted curiously. Hadn’t his health already been shown?

“Indeed, Sam said much the same. But given that your overall health was depicted on the starting screen, and this number is different, I believe that it represents something different. Perhaps you can figure it out?” Celestia asked, looking at him inquisitively.

Jeremy examined his “HP.” It was currently about three-quarters full, depicted as a bar rather than a numerical value. “Well… there was one game that people speculated might have used it in a different context,” he thought aloud, a nagging suspicion starting to take hold.

“Go on?” Celestia eagerly enthused.

“In this game, they thought maybe the player’s HP didn’t stand for ‘Health Points’… but for ‘Hope,’” Jeremy remembered.

“Hope?” Celestia queried, sounding blank.

“Yeah. You know… the hope that the character would succeed. That the character’s dreams would come true, and they would find their happy ending.” Jeremy finished, looking at her.

“And you have… three-quarters, perhaps, of your maximum ‘hope,’” Celestia clarified, checking the screen again.

Jeremy shrugged. “Yeah? I’m not terribly concerned with the future right now. After all, I already won. I escaped Tartarus, all my friends are alive and okay, and everything’s alright at the moment. Maybe it’ll change later,” he mused.

“I suppose it may,” Celestia hesitantly agreed.

“Now, one last thing…” she muttered, flicking through yet more screens with her hoof. Jeremy watched her golden shoe glide across the touch screen, wincing every time she pressed too hard – gold was a soft metal, but it wasn’t that soft. “What can you tell me about these?” Celestia asked, and he looked at the Monitor again. His heart sank into his shoes as the familiar SAVE/RESET/QUIT screen was depicted on the screen, and he fought to control his expression.

“I think I already talked with Luna about those,” Jeremy answered, mouth dry as he looked Celestia directly in the eyes, trying to avoid giving off any air of lying or misdirection. “They’re some kind of mechanic from video games back home… much like the rest of these stats.”

Celestia gave him a searching look. “What do they mean?” she asked carefully.

“Well, SAVE refers to how many times an outside player has attempted to play the game, or how many times the main character has ‘died,’” Jeremy began, air-quoting the last bit. “RESET is a measure of how many times the outside player has given up on their current path and restarted from the very beginning. QUIT is when the outside player closes the game, though I’m not quite sure how that one would apply in this context,” Jeremy mused.

“I am not sure how any of these would apply in our context,” Celestia added, and Jeremy stiffened as he realized hisunintentional slip.

“Y-yeah… they don’t make a whole lot of sense. Maybe we’ll find out later?” he wondered.

Celestia looked uncomfortably at the screen again. “If the SAVE statistic has already reached a value of two hundred and seven… I feel we must figure it out sooner rather than later. But you have been quite helpful already, so… thank you,” Celestia concluded, bowing slightly in his direction.

“Oh… you’re welcome,” Jeremy answered. It didn’t seem like she had caught on… though, with a millennia-old alicorn with centuries of political experience, it was hard to tell.

Jeremy snuck a glance at Twilight, who had remained silent through the whole thing. What was she thinking? Her expression was as unreadable as he hoped his own was.

Chapter 9

They parted ways, Chrysalis following him back up to the secret hallway where the humans and former villains were staying. As he opened the door to his room, Jeremy was pleasantly surprised to find that moonlight once more shone through the window, a soft white compared to the harsh yellow of the daytime.

“Perfect,” Jeremy complimented. “But where’s Nightmare Moon?”

They looked around, checking the bathroom and even the closet – Nightmare Moon was nowhere in sight.

“Maybe she’s talking with the other humans?” Chrysalis guessed. Shrugging, Jeremy went out into the corridor again.

They eventually found Nightmare Moon being, of all things, petted by the rest of the humans, all of whom were in Sam’s room. Avery was rubbing a hand along her belly, while Cory and Kylie were fussing around with her hair. Kylie appeared to be attempting to braid her ethereal mane, while Cory was simply playing with it, running his fingers through it in curiosity. Nick was examining one of her wings, the ebony-black appendage tentatively outstretched as Nick rubbed a finger along one of Nightmare Moon’s feathers. Brayden appeared to be massaging Nightmare Moon’s flanks, his softball-sized hands kneading her muscles with surprising gentleness. Sam was the only one not petting the dream demon, looking pleased as he watched the others. As Jeremy walked into the room, everyone stopped and looked at him.

“I’m not even sure where to start here,” Jeremy began sternly. “Is it the fact that for once, Sam’s not the one whose unreal levels of hair are being touched? Is it that Kylie’s trying to braid hair that’s made of magic? Or is it that all of you began cuddling Nightmare Moon... and didn’t invite me?”

Sam burst out laughing. “You weren’t here!” he pointed out, as Jeremy and Chrysalis took seats on either side of Nightmare Moon, scratching behind her ear and rubbing her neck respectively as Nightmare hummed contentedly.

“So, how’s it going, you two?” Brayden asked.

“It’s going fine,” Chrysalis answered distractedly.

“Changelings doing alright?” Sam added.

“I… haven’t checked,” Jeremy realized with a sense of worry.

“It’s only been a day, Jeremy. They can handle themselves without you,” Chrysalis dismissed.

“Yeah, but…” Jeremy trailed off. This would be a great time for a ‘hilarious’ episode of ponies discovering changelings in the caves, he pointed out.

Chrysalis looked uneasy. “…On second thought, they have missed you lately,” she hastily amended. Jeremy stood up, reluctantly pulling his hand away from Nightmare Moon’s head, where she regarded his fingers with a dismayed frown.

“So soon?” she pouted.

“Yeah, I know. Don’t worry, I’ll be back later to make up for it,” Jeremy promised. That said, he exited the room, hurriedly heading for Canterlot.

Only when he was out of the palace, down the steps, and outside the drawbridge did Jeremy remember that he had no idea where the caves were. When she had used them, Chrysalis had not bothered to use an entrance or exit, simply causing Twilight to sink through the ground with her magic. So, logically speaking, the caves were right under his feet – he just had to find an access point.

Jeremy roamed the streets of Canterlot, ponies barely giving him a glance as he searched high and low for a possible entrance to the caves. A fall breeze blustered around him, rattling papers and sending leaves skittering as he drew his arms around himself, shivering slightly. He suspected that he might have to traverse down the mountain, so he made his way for the very edge of the city, precariously overlooking Equestria from its perch on the mountaintop. There was no way down except by falling, and something told Jeremy he wouldn’t survive falling off a mountain. Reluctantly, he headed back, wondering where he could find them.

To his surprise, there appeared to be something of a gathering outside a particular shop, a few blocks down.

“Mommy, I wanted to go to the caves today!” a nearby foal whined. The mother pointed at the gathering.

“It’s closed, dear – there are changelings in there. Sorry… but maybe another day.”

The foal looked down dejectedly, then spotted Jeremy, giant as he was compared to the rest of the ponies. “Mommy, mommy! That’s the king! The king of the changelings!” the foal shouted, and Jeremy looked over.

“Hush, it’s rude to point!” the mother scolded. She gave Jeremy an apologetic look. “Sorry about that,” she called over nervously.

“It’s fine,” Jeremy called back, walking over. “But what’s this about the caves?”

The mare appeared slightly nervous, and he crouched down to face her at eye level, taking a seat on the dusty road.

“Well, since your… kind moved in yesterday, a local business of cave tours isn’t able to offer any of their normal attractions,” she explained.

Jeremy nodded in understanding. “Then I shall have to see what I can do,” he announced, and the foal beamed at him.

“Will you let us go on tours again?” the tiny colt asked excitedly, hopping in place.

Jeremy grinned at him. “With a face like that, how could I not?” A renewed purpose in his step, he strode over to the crowd to find a very tired-looking mare with a megaphone, giving some sort of announcement.

“-am sorry, but we are not authorized to resume tours through the caves at this time,” the megaphone blared. As Jeremy neared the crowd, sensing that this was the opportunity he had been looking for, some eyes turned to him.

“It’s the changeling king!” a pony shouted out, and ponies close to him quickly bowed, fearful looks in their eyes. Feeling nervous, Jeremy continued forward, the ponies parting like the Red Sea as he made it to the pony with the megaphone.

“Sorry about this, I didn’t know we’d be interrupting local business. I’ll see what I can do about getting your business back up and running,” he offered.

The mare looked at him in shock for a moment, then slumped over in relief. “Thank you,” she murmured, barely audible over the din of the gathered crowd.

“Mind if I make an announcement?” he asked, and she gladly passed him the megaphone. “Attention, everyone!” Jeremy spoke, loud enough to cause the crowd to immediately fall silent. “I apologize for the delay. I will go down and see what I can do with my changelings to get tours running again as quickly as possible. There may be a slight further delay as we work out the details, but I promise you will be able to go on tours again by tomorrow, if not today. Any questions?” he asked.

Silence from the crowd.

“Alrighty then. See you in a bit!” he finished, handing the megaphone back to the mare as he turned to make his way into the store.

Cluttered knick-knacks, fossils, and minerals littered the shelves, with books on geology and archaeology stacked haphazardly on a single, massive bookshelf. Jeremy looked back as the door chime tinkled again, signaling that the mare from earlier had entered the store.

“I figured I should go with you, so you know where to stay out of,” the mare explained.

“Fair enough. What’s your name?” Jeremy asked.

“Cave Hollows. I run a few mining operations and touring businesses throughout Equestria, but this is our most popular one,” the mare explained.

“Nice to meet you, Cave Hollows. My name is Jeremy,” he returned.

Cave Hollows raised an eyebrow. “Just ‘Jeremy?’ Not ‘King Jeremy?’” she questioned.

Jeremy shrugged. “I’m not too big on titles. Just ‘Jeremy’ is fine,” he agreed.

Cave opened a door near the back of the shop, which led to a carved-out area in the mountainside with a cave opening in the middle. “Right through here, and watch your head,” she warned, grabbing a hard hat and jamming it on with a practiced air as she disappeared into the dark cave.

Jeremy followed, considering and quickly dismissing grabbing a hard hat of his own. They were clearly designed for ponies, for one thing, and he hated wearing hats of any kind. Besides, it wasn’t like he had to fear critical injury. Unless of course you’re creating alternate timelines, and the Cave Hollows of this timeline will have to explain to Chrysalis how you managed to die from a rock to the skull, an inner voice snidely pointed out. Jeremy stifled those thoughts, unwilling to even focus on them, and stubbornly continued forward.

Cave Hollows turned on her mining light, the hiss of acetylene gas sounding as she lit it with a match struck against the cave wall.

“You use acetylene mining lights in Equestria?” Jeremy asked curiously.

“Not in ‘modern times,’ we don’t. This is just for show,” Cave explained with a grin.

“Oh. Heh, I guess it does kind of sell that ‘old-school’ mining feel,” Jeremy agreed with a smile.

“You ever been in a cave before?” she asked curiously.

Jeremy rolled his eyes. “Depends. Does Tartarus count as a ‘cave?’” he smugly inquired, and Cave Hollows’ jaw dropped.

“You were in Tartarus?” she questioned incredulously.

Jeremy nodded. “Yeah, for a while at least. Don’t worry, I’m not an evil monster bent on destroying all that ponies hold dear,” he sardonically added, rolling his eyes.

“So it’s true, then. You really did… escape that place,” Cave muttered. She fell silent for a moment. “What’s it like, down there? Like, what are the mineral formations?” she asked hopefully.

Jeremy thought hard. “Plenty of red sandstone – there seems to be some kind of outcrop of it through the whole mountain. There was a room absolutely full of gems and crystals, but I think that was faked to contain Sombra. Um… Yeah, it really was just sandstone, concrete and magma,” he concluded with a shrug.

“Sandstone? Really?” Cave asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Right? It’s weird. I don’t know of any other mineral that’s bright red, though. Unless it was an odd form of hematite, or chert, or something,” Jeremy thought.

“Are you a mineralogist, by any chance?” Cave asked, sounding mildly impressed.

“Just a fossicker, actually. I wish I had a degree in mineralogy, that would come in handy,” Jeremy mused. Cave Hollows immediately beamed at him.

“Nobody knows what ‘fossicker’ even means anymore! Everypony else just calls us ‘rock collectors’ or ‘gem hunters!’” she excitedly replied.

Jeremy laughed. “Same on my planet. It’s a pretty archaic term at this point. So, what’s down here?” he asked curiously. Cave Hollows thought for a moment.

“The upper portion of the mountain is mostly dolomite, calcite and quartz, so nothing special there. Deeper in the caves you can find smithsonite, gem forms of quartz like amethyst, rose quartz, and smoky quartz, and if you’re really lucky, some small outcrops of native bismuth and silver.”

Jeremy nodded, fascinated. “Are silver and gold… more common here? I seem to remember some ponies walking around with gold coins, and it was hard to tell if they were real gold or brass from the distance,” he explained.

Cave Hollows snorted. “They’re real gold. Gold’s super common here, we use it for all sorts of stuff. Platinum’s a bit less common, and silver’s really rare.”

Jeremy nodded again in understanding. “Kind of the opposite of my planet, then. Silver’s the most common of the three, followed by gold, and platinum is the most rare.”

Cave Hollows looked at him, intrigued. “What about gemstones?” she asked.

“Diamond’s the rarest, followed by emerald, followed by topaz, followed by ruby, sapphire, and the rest. Amethyst is the least rare gemstone to still be considered a high-class gem,” Jeremy listed.

Cave Hollows snorted louder. “Don’t let Celestia catch you saying that. It’s her favorite one,” she ribbed. Jeremy rolled his eyes.

“Don’t worry, I won’t be making fun of her jewelry preferences anytime soon. Besides, my crown apparently has green fluorite set into it, so I can hardly complain,” he snorted, motioning to his black-and green crown.

Cave Hollows looked at him, wide-eyed. “Green fluorite? That’s the rarest kind!” she exclaimed, rearing up to try and get a better look at his crown in the dim torchlight.

Jeremy laughed. “Fluorite’s an uncommon mineral back home, and the green variety is its most common form. It’s not quite a gemstone, but definitely not an ordinary mineral.”

Cave Hollows considered this, falling back onto four legs as she resumed directing him down the series of tunnels. “…Your planet is weird,” she muttered. Jeremy burst out laughing, his mirth echoing off the cave walls into the murky distance.

They walked along in silence for a moment, Cave Hollows starting to appear anxious as she frequently looked around.

“Trying to glimpse a changeling?” Jeremy wondered aloud.

Startled, Cave hastily looked forward again. “Well… yeah…” she trailed off uncertainly.

Jeremy snorted. “Don’t bother. They’ll hear us coming from a mile away, and transform into something inanimate. A drop of water, or a tiny pebble, or even an insect smaller than you can see.”

Cave Hollows shivered slightly. “B-but… changelings are g-good, right? They won’t… w-won’t hurt us,” she nervously stammered.

Jeremy caught on, and quickly shot her an apologetic look. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you with that. Yeah, we’re friendly, though changelings can get a little defensive if our young or queen are threatened. But you shouldn’t have to worry about that, not with me here.”

Cave Hollows nodded mutely, and Jeremy continued walking along, the pause stretching into an awkward silence.

“You know, if a changeling ever does attack you for any reason… your best bet is being nice to them. It’ll throw them off guard,” Jeremy spoke up after a while.

“What?” Cave Hollows queried, sounding lost.

“Yeah. A big part of our culture up until recently was… well, you know what it was like. If you try to make them your friend, they won’t attack you because they won’t know how to respond,” Jeremy explained.

“You sound like you’ve used this strategy before,” Cave shrewdly observed, her ear flicking as a drop of water landed on it.

Jeremy chuckled quietly. “Not on changelings, but… yeah. I have.”

Cave looked at him curiously. “On who, then?” she asked.

“Nightmare Moon, Queen Chrysalis, King Sombra, Lord Tirek, and…” Jeremy stopped suddenly, a slightly bitter taste in his mouth.

“…Princess Celestia?” Cave Hollows finished quietly.

Jeremy remained silent, looking away. It occurred to him that Celestia, lost in depression as she was, had been right about one thing: These ponies idolized her. To them, she embodied perfection, and the thought that she might be imperfect could be a dangerous one.

A second awkward silence, more oppressive than the first, fell over them as they continued making their way through the damp tunnels of the cave.

“Are you mad at me?” Jeremy asked quietly after they hopped down from a ledge, his body audibly cracking as his bones adjusted position.

Cave, startled that he had spoken, glanced over at him. “…No,” she finally decided. “I’m not.”

Jeremy simply looked at her, waiting for an explanation that seemed unlikely to come in the face of the recent conversation.

To his surprise, Cave Hollows did speak. “It’s just… we really looked up to Celestia, you know? She was… she was the best. And to think that the best could go and do something like that…” Cave Hollows sighed, ears drooping.

Jeremy sighed as well. “Anyone can fall that far, Cave. Believe me, I would know. And it’s a terrifying thought, isn’t it? To look your enemy, or your fallen friend in the eye and realize that they are not so different than you. That they only made a few different choices. But… it becomes worse, by far, when you refuse to recognize that. When you demonize them, without thinking about why they did what they did. That’s… part of why I’m a pacifist,” he admitted, realizing it just as he spoke it aloud.

“But if anyone can fall that far, then… is there no such thing as ‘good’? Is it all just… relative?” Cave Hollows wondered.

Jeremy shrugged. “Maybe there isn’t a one true definition of ‘good.’ Some people might say it’s me. But to some others, my actions probably seem patronizing, if not blatantly naïve. But… does it really matter? When everyone knows you are only trying to help, your actions become less important than the reasoning behind them. If people took a moment to realize that… then maybe we’d get along a little better.”

Cave pondered this for a moment. “That was… a lot to think about,” she observed.

Jeremy laughed softly. “Yeah… normally I’m not this philosophical. So… how far down are we?” Cave looked around for a moment.

“We’re reaching the end of the official tour. I haven’t seen anything that would concern me yet, but if what you said earlier is right, then I wouldn’t be able to.”

Jeremy shrugged. “Even if my changelings were inanimate objects, I would be able to sense them, I think. We have a… well, a mental connection, of sorts.”

Cave Hollows looked at him strangely. “Really? Can you tell where they are now?” she asked.

“I don’t know, it’s pretty new to me… I’ll try,” Jeremy offered, closing his eyes and stopping a moment as he reached out through his crown. To his surprise, he felt their presence nearby, drawn to it like a magnet. “They’re that way,” he said, pointing at a patch of cave wall. “And fairly close,” he added after a moment.

Cave thought hard. “The only way they could be over there is if…” she muttered to herself, walking back the way they came. Curious, Jeremy followed her.

They came to a branch in the cave that Jeremy had not noticed before, ensconced as he was in his moral ruminations. It was quite small, barely large enough to fit him, but reasonably sized for a pony to crawl through.

“Through here… if you can fit,” Cave instructed, disappearing as she crawled in.

Jeremy followed Cave into the darkness, the crawling through the cave feeling eerily familiar to how he had first woken up in this strange land.

He emerged into an intense green glare, burning his eyes. All around him were changelings, some looking lost and confused, others slowly settling into holes and crevices in the walls of this tunnel. The tunnel itself was more akin to a wide atrium than a snaking path, with seemingly plenty of space for his changelings to stay. As soon as the ones nearby caught sight of him, their faces broke into smiles.

“The King!” they chorused, and the shout was echoed all through the cave as changelings stopped what they were doing to look at him.

“Hello, everyone,” Jeremy greeted, already beaming at the happy looks on his subjects’ faces.

Immediately, he was tackled to the floor by every changeling nearest to him, and he spluttered and laughed as they hugged and kissed him happily.

“Alright, alright, enough!” he got out, still laughing, and they immediately backed off, cringing slightly. Noticing their sudden change of expression, Jeremy gave them an apologetic smile. “Sorry, but I have to take care of some things first while I’m here. Then we can get back to hugging and stuff. Alright?” he offered.

The changelings who had been hugging him looked at each other, muttering something unintelligible. “…Of course, my King,” one finally answered.

“Thank you. Sorry I had to interrupt… this won’t take long,” Jeremy answered as kindly as he could. That said, he turned to Cave Hollows. “Do ponies come this way?” he asked curiously.

Cave shook her head. “Not as part of the tour, no. I think we should patch up that tunnel just in case a little foal decides to ‘adventure,’ though.”

One of the changelings looked at her curiously. “But why are ponies coming through here, my King?” he asked, flinching as Jeremy’s gaze flickered over to him.

“Are you okay?” Jeremy asked, noticing its reaction.

“I… I know you won’t hurt me, but we aren’t supposed to question the King’s orders…” he whispered shakily, trembling like a leaf in the wind as he scrunched up his eyes.

Jeremy gently tapped him on a foreleg, and he opened his eyes to find Jeremy holding his arms open. Slowly, hesitantly, the changeling made his way forward, and Jeremy enclosed him in as gentle of a hug as he possibly could.

“You are very brave, for defying what he made you think,” Jeremy whispered, smiling down at the still-terrified changeling. “But… I need you to ask me questions. To call me out if you think I’m wrong, or if you don’t know what I’m doing… because I’m not always right. I don’t know everything, and I’ll never know all the things you do, even if we do share a hive mind. So don’t be afraid to ask me anything, alright? I’ll never be angry at you for being curious,” Jeremy promised.

The changeling nuzzled into his sweater, relaxing slightly. “Thank you, my King,” he murmured.

“So, about your question. The reason ponies are coming through here is because this mare, named Cave Hollows, runs a touring business here. Ponies come down occasionally and look at all the cool stalactites and rock formations, and then they return to the surface. They won’t be coming into this cave specifically, but there is a nearby tunnel that connects the path they take to here. Cave Hollows is worried that some of the smaller ponies might decide to go through this tunnel and get separated from the rest of the group, so she wishes to cut off that entrance,” Jeremy explained.

“Oh… that makes sense, I think,” the changeling in his arms replied.

“But… aren’t we supposed to be proving to ponies we’re friendly?” another changeling hesitantly spoke up.

Jeremy, surprised, nodded in her direction. “We are, and we will. But allowing foals to stray off beyond the protection of their parents is not the way we should go about it, I think,” he gently rebutted.

“…Okay…” the changeling conceded.

“So, um… how long do you think it will take to block this place off?” Cave Hollows asked, interrupting.

Jeremy passed the question off with a glance at his followers. “Well? Who can do it the most quickly?” he asked. Instantly, hundreds of pairs of hooves were raised, and Jeremy laughed in surprise at his changelings’ enthusiasm. “Alright, you, you, and… you,” he chose, pointing at three changelings at random. “The rest of you can return to what you were doing before.” The three changelings he had chosen bounded forward eagerly, and Jeremy smiled as he got up, gently setting the changelings in his arms down on the floor.

“What about me?” he asked, looking up at Jeremy curiously.

“You can stay here,” Jeremy decided. “Too many workers would get in the way of each other, I think.” The changeling nodded obediently, and returned to the shallow pit he had been digging, a hint of a smile on his face.

Jeremy and Cave Hollows curiously watched as the three changelings debated how to close the hole, huddling up with each other. Jeremy, who was partially following the conversation mentally, caught hints of thoughts like too gross? and works well anyway… Finally, they made their choice, and the one in the middle sauntered over to the hole, head held high. She breathed in, and a moment later expelled a viscous green fluid, which sailed through the air and hit the hole with a wet smack. Cave Hollows cringed, and Jeremy did his best to avoid doing the same, looking on with fascination. The other two had by now joined the first, and were patting the gel-like material with their hooves, smoothing it over the entrance it had come through as it slowly hardened. Finally, when they couldn’t move it any more, the first one lit her horn, the hardened gel glowing green before adopting the same texture and apparent properties as the rest of the cave wall.

“Wow,” Jeremy complimented, while Cave looked slightly green herself.

“That, um… okay… well, whatever… works…” Cave Hollows falteringly complimented.

“Are you okay?” one of the changelings asked her, raising an eyebrow.

“Y-yeah, I’ll be fine,” Cave stuttered, swallowing hard.

“Yeah, we know, it’s kinda gross. But it gets the job done,” another changeling explained.

Cave laughed, and her tension was broken as the other three changelings laughed with her.

“So, is that everything?” Jeremy asked, turning to Cave Hollows.

“Yeah… that should do it,” Cave agreed. She looked as though she wanted to say something else, so Jeremy politely waited as she scuffed the cave floor with a hoof. She glanced at his polite smile, and seemed to decide something. “You’re… a very strange king, Jeremy,” she began.

Immediately, some nearby changelings began bristling, and Jeremy caught thoughts like just what is that supposed to mean? and Rude! He gave the changelings behind him a quelling glance, and they fell silent again.

“You… you aren’t high and mighty. You aren’t regal, or wise, or anything I thought a king would be like. You’re just… like a regular pony, aren’t you? The only difference is that you have a crown on your head,” Cave mused.

Jeremy remained silent for a moment. Then, a giggle forced its way past his lips. Then another. Finally, he burst out laughing, his peals of mirth echoing through the cavern. Cave Hollows and a few of the changelings looked at him strangely, and he could feel his changelings wondering why he was so happy. As his laughter died down, he wiped the tears away from his face. “That’s the nicest compliment anyone has ever given me… thank you, Cave Hollows,” he replied, still beaming with amusement.

“Wh-wait, what?” Cave wondered, incredulous.

“That was always my plan for being a King! I never took up this job because I wanted to be regal, or even wise. I became King because I wanted to be someone who my subjects could trust. Someone they could ask anything of, no matter how personal or how difficult. Someone that they didn’t see as ‘above them’ in any way. Just… just a normal guy, with a crown on his head,” Jeremy echoed, smiling at her.

Cave Hollows smiled back, and for the first time she didn’t appear to be afraid. “You could teach Celestia a thing or two,” she joked, and Jeremy chuckled.

“Oh, I plan on it,” he agreed.

“So… how do we get out of here?” Cave wondered, looking around. Immediately, a nearby changeling stepped forward.

“I can escort you to the surface, if you’d like…?” she offered.

“Oh! Sure… Jeremy, want to come with?” Cave asked.

Jeremy considered for a brief moment. “I’d better,” he agreed. “After all, I’m going to have to know how to enter this place properly for later.” Cave Hollows laughed, and Jeremy stood up, stretching out his limbs.

“Alright. I’ll be back soon, everyone… and then we can start hugging and playing again,” Jeremy announced to the Hive at large. Cheerful buzzes of agreement sounded all over the caverns in reply, and Jeremy nodded as he followed Cave Hollows and the other changeling to the surface.

To his surprise, it was not very far away – down just one tunnel, he could see daylight. Immediately, Jeremy was assaulted by a memory of a sandstone pit, the same one he had woken up in. This cave wasn’t red, and he was going out instead of coming in, but that shaft of sunlight was unmistakably familiar to him. He smiled, feeling an odd sense of completion as he stepped out onto the mountainside.

“You okay?” Cave Hollows asked, looking at him.

Jeremy realized his eyes were watery, and hurriedly made to clear them. “Yeah… just remembering something,” he answered, looking around.

Below them, the mountain loomed, thousands of feet of sheer drop signaling the altitude they were at. A blustery breeze blew around them, loudly whipping around Jeremy’s sweater and giving him a refreshing chill. Birds chirped happily in the autumn sunlight, flying about as they prepared for the coming winter. The mountain face itself was of a slight purple tint, distinctly alien to Jeremy even as it resembled normal mountain rock. The cave mouth opened onto a lone, thin path that led upwards and to their left, a rotting wooden fence all that prevented ponies from falling off the mountain. The sun shone brightly overhead, though the color was a more muted yellow-orange as it was back home in the autumn.

“Oh, this is where this goes?” Cave realized, a surprised tone in her voice as she too looked around. “I’ve never taken this path, I always thought it was closed off or something. Well, thank you for escorting me, but I know the rest of the way,” she informed the changeling, who nodded politely. That said, Cave turned to Jeremy. “Thank you for helping me. Most Kings wouldn’t have even cared, or had their subordinates deal with it… but I like your way of doing things better.”

Jeremy simply smiled in response, and Cave nodded, smiling herself.

“Good-bye! I might come visit sometime!” she called over her shoulder as she started up the path to Canterlot.

“Good-bye!” Jeremy and the changeling called back, smiling and waving.

Finally, when Cave Hollows was out of sight, the changeling turned to Jeremy. “Did I do good? Queen Chrysalis said to be really polite when escorting ponies,” she asked.

Jeremy beamed at her. “You did wonderfully. I couldn’t have asked for better,” he complimented. She laughed and looked away, blushing slightly. They turned to make their way back into the cave, and Jeremy’s foot caught on a rock as he once again flashed back to the entrance of Tartarus he had fallen into.

“Are you okay?” the changeling worried as he caught himself, evening his stride out once more.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Heh. Every time I enter a cave, I’m going to be thinking of my time in Tartarus... it's just a memory now, though,” he explained, quirking his mouth slightly.

The changeling stared at him a moment longer, then smiled back. “If you say so, my King.”

They walked onward in silence, Jeremy looking around at the cave walls as he hoped to spot an outcrop of gemstone. “You know… Queen Chrysalis always asks herself why you like us so much. Ponies scream and run at the sight of us, and most other species at least regard us with suspicion, or sometimes disgust. So… why do you like us?” the changeling asked bluntly.

Caught by surprise, Jeremy snorted with laughter. “It’s partially because changelings are adorable. At least, to humans, they are. We’re culturally trained to regard anything with big eyes and your body proportions to be cute.”

She looked at him strangely. “So… it’s just because we’re cute?” she wondered.

Jeremy shook his head. “That’s only part of it. Honestly, before… all this, I didn’t really have anyone to give my love to. I didn’t have a whole lot of friends… Sam aside, and I hadn’t even seen Sam in a few years. I’d forgotten how good it felt just to hug someone, or hold them close, or see them smile because of something you did for them. It’s… nice,” Jeremy pondered.

“I noticed that too, when I tried it! It feels strangely… good to share love. Like it’s what we’re supposed to do,” the changeling agreed.

Jeremy chuckled. “You might be on to something… and something tells me Queen Hespera would agree. It is what we’re supposed to do,” he agreed.

They returned to the atrium cavern to find a gaggle of younger changelings waiting for them.

“Is King Daddy ready to play?” squeaked one. Jeremy instantly beamed, reminded that the younger ones tended to think of him as their father – because Chrysalis was their biological mother, naturally.

“Of course!” he agreed, and took a seat right there as the younger ones swarmed over him, hugging him and booping his nose and playing with his hair.

“Up!” a particularly small one squealed excitedly, and Jeremy laughed and picked it up, holding it high in the air before it jumped down, falling like a feather as it buzzed its wings.

“Very good!” Jeremy complimented it. “Soon you’ll be able to fly around for real!”

The baby changeling jumped up and down ecstatically before happily nuzzling his leg, babbling wordlessly in agreement. Satisfied, Jeremy returned his attention to a certain troublemaker who was trying to hang off of his hair by their teeth, chuckling even as he cringed. Kids. No matter what species, they’re always the same, he thought contentedly.

Some time later, he became aware that a lone, young changeling had not joined the playtime. They were in the corner, scratching and scribbling on a torn and yellowed sheet of paper with an old quill and some ink. The rest of the changeling children were asleep, so Jeremy curiously got up and wandered over to look at what they were drawing. To his surprise, it appeared to be a drawing of himself, if the human-shaped stick figure was anything to go by. He surmised the stick figure next to it was Chrysalis, judging by the hair, and they appeared to be smiling at each other. All around them, smiling stick-figure changelings were looking at them, seemingly in approval. At the top, the words ‘Our Future’ were written, and underlined twice. Immediately, Jeremy felt a surge of affection and emotion for this child. Seemingly noticing, the changeling whirled around, looking slightly guilty.

“Oh! Hi, Dad!” they greeted, their voice the same as a scratchy, genderless ten-year-old human’s would be.

“Hey, kiddo. I like your drawing!” Jeremy complimented, taking a seat by them.

“I, um… thanks…” the changeling replied, though their ears were drooping.

“Is something wrong?” Jeremy asked in concern, wondering if he had said something incorrectly.

“D-dad… do you promise not to be mad at me?” the child asked.

“Of course. I promise not to be angry, no matter what,” Jeremy immediately answered, though he could not deny his curiosity.

“I… I wanted to draw something, so I… I went into Mom’s room, and… I took this drawing stuff,” they admitted, lip quivering.

Jeremy wondered how best to treat this situation. “Well… you shouldn’t have stolen. Stealing someone else’s stuff is wrong, and you know that,” he began. “But…” he trailed off.

“B-but?” the child replied, a glimmer of hope in their wet eyes.

“You shouldn’t be punished for wanting to create something, either. Besides, those drawing materials look really old – Mom probably had them for a while. Let’s go get you some proper tools,” Jeremy offered.

Instantly, the child’s face lit up as though Jeremy had announced a new Christmas just for them. “R-really?!” they yelled excitedly, beaming.

“Of course! This way, you won’t have to steal anything,” Jeremy agreed, picking them up and putting them on his shoulder. Just as they were about to leave, Jeremy noticed the drawing, still lying on the floor. He picked it up, and held it up to the changeling on his shoulder.

“Do you mind if I show Mom this? I think she’d love to see it,” he asked.

“Will she be mad at me for taking her stuff?” the child asked.

Jeremy thought for a moment. “I think she won’t be. After all… it’s a wonderful drawing,” he answered, smiling slightly.

Does anyone have any money? I want to buy something for this child, he asked the Hive at large. A changeling a ways up on the wall dived into the hole they had carved out the moment he had finished, rustling around. They popped out a moment later, carrying a small bag in their mouth, which they flew over and promptly held out to him.

“Oh! That was fast, thank you,” Jeremy complimented.

“I got it a long time ago for working at a pony restaurant,” the changeling explained. “I never really knew what to do with it, but ponies kept insisting that it was very important, so I held on to it.”

Jeremy chuckled, reminded of the conversation he and Chrysalis had had a week and a half ago about the purpose of money. “They were right, in a sense. Money’s very important in this day and age. After all, we need it to obtain useful things from Equestrians.”

The changeling cocked their head. “I still don’t get that… but alright, my King. It is yours to use,” they declared, bowing.

Jeremy smiled. “Thanks again. See you later!” he concluded, heading for the exit.

They stepped out into the afternoon sunlight, the diminutive changeling on Jeremy’s shoulder grunting and adjusting to the glare.

“Where are we going?” it asked, looking around curiously at the outside world.

“I'm going to try and find an art store, or perhaps a library,” Jeremy explained. “They both would have paper and drawing tools for you to use.”

The changeling on his shoulder blushed and looked away. “Thank’oo, Daddy,” they mumbled.

Jeremy laughed. “You're very welcome!” A thought occurred to him, and he paused for a moment, wondering how best to word his sudden query.

“Do you have a name, by the way?” he asked.

The changeling shook their head. “Momma didn’t give me one… she said I’m not old enough yet,” they sadly answered.

Jeremy reached up and patted them on the head. “Well, that just means you get to look forward to it, right? You’re going to have a great name, I can just feel it.”

He finally reached Canterlot proper, puffing slightly as he stepped onto flat ground instead of a sloping trail.

“Is this the place Momma in-vay-ded?” the tiny changeling asked.

Jeremy made a noncommittal sound. “…Yeah,” he answered after a moment. “But that was just… a misunderstanding.” The changeling on his shoulder remained silent for a while, as Jeremy searched the city of Canterlot for an art shop.

He finally found one in the form of ‘Colora’s Colors,’ an expensive-looking art shop relatively far away from Celestia’s palace. The bell chimed as he walked in the door, ducking his head to avoid hitting the doorframe. The shop itself was an absolute mess, paints and canvases everywhere in no particular arrangement. The shelves were so loosely sorted that Jeremy had a hard time telling if there even was any organization to them, and the front desk was equally covered in various projects and jars of oil paint.

“Oh, hello! What can I do for you today!” the owner asked, trotting up. She was an alabaster-colored pegasus similar to Rarity… or so Jeremy thought. Her coat was so smeared with paints, marker, pigments, and various other forms of coloring tools that it was hard to tell just what color she was supposed to be. She made Rainbow Dash look boring and plain with how vibrant the splotches of color on her were.

“Wow. Did your entire gallery explode?” Jeremy joked, and she giggled slightly.

“I get that a lot. No, I did this to myself on purpose. Now I’m a work of art!” she explained, and Jeremy nodded approvingly.

“Anyway, we’re here to get this little one some proper drawing supplies,” he replied, and the mare straightened up immediately, an excited smile plastered on her face.

“I’m always happy to introduce little ones to the wonders of artistry! Hold on, I know just what to get.” She disappeared into the depths of the cluttered shop, art supplies clinking as she rustled around.

A moment later, she returned with a small, wooden box, holding it in her mouth and evidently intending Jeremy take it.

He did, glancing at the label inscribed on the box. “Student’s Kit?” he asked, curious.

“I put these together a while back for my art students. It’s a little of everything – oil and watercolor paints, quills and ink, charcoal, and a rubber eraser. And you’ll also need some paper…” she muttered, vanishing into the clutter again as she hunted down some un-painted on paper.

“Yeah, this oughta be right!” she proclaimed a moment later. There was a small thump as she set down a stack of papers of various sizes on the front desk, knocking over a thankfully closed jar of paint as she did so. “And one more…” she added, poking around on said desk until she whipped out a book.

“A Beginner’s Guide to Art,” Jeremy read.

“Yep! I wrote it. So, all this will be fifty-three bits,” Colora finished. Jeremy fished around in the sack of money he had been given. The larger gold coins, he discovered, were worth fifty bits, and there was a smaller gold one that was just five bits, so he plucked out one of each and handed them over.

“Fifty-five, change is two…” Colora muttered as she ducked below her desk, the clinking of metal indicating she was rustling about in a money tin. “Here’s your change! Let me know if you need any more help,” she promised as she handed him two small silver coins.

“Thank you, this is a really good start already!” Jeremy replied happily.

“Thank’oo, Miss Colora!” the changeling on his shoulder called out as they left the shop.

They made their way back to the Hive, Jeremy still smiling. “So, do you think this will be enough?” he asked.

The changeling looked down at the somewhat heavy pile of stuff he was carrying, and beamed. “This is so much… thank you, Dad. I make you proud!” they proclaimed, puffing their chest out adorably.

Jeremy chuckled. “That said, you’ll probably spend a lot of time learning how to draw correctly, so don’t be afraid to use all of it. We can always just go buy more,” he offered.

They hugged him, or rather, his face, nuzzling his cheek gently. “You’re the best, dad,” they murmured, and Jeremy’s heart nearly broke in two from the amount of cute contained in the tiny changeling.

They returned to the Hive to find that the other children had woken up, and were playing once more.

“Dad!” one called out, and they all turned to face him with smiles.

“Hello again, everyone! I was out getting some art supplies for this child here. Be careful not to tear the paper or spill the paint,” Jeremy warned. He set the paints, paper, book, and drawing kit down where the changeling on his shoulder had been drawing before, and finally let them off his shoulder, a slight ache letting him know just how long they had been sitting there.

“Woww…” the other changelings breathed as they gazed upon the things Jeremy had bought.

“Now, remember,” he began, addressing the child that had just been on his shoulder. They looked up at him curiously. “If another person asks you to use your art supplies, you should share them. After all, creating things together is much more fun than creating them alone,” Jeremy lectured, trying to sound like a proper dad.

“Okay, Daddy,” the changeling agreed, smiling at him.

Jeremy smiled back. “Thanks, kiddo. Anyway, I’d better go find Mom. It’s been two whole hours and I haven’t hugged her yet,” he joked, to the surrounding changelings’ laughter.

“Bye, Daddy!” they chorused, and Jeremy beamed as he once more made for the surface. It felt like Chrysalis was aboveground, somewhere…

Chapter 10

Jeremy found Chrysalis right back at Celestia’s palace, where she appeared to be discussing things with Sam, Celestia and Twilight, the four of them sitting in a circle just in front of Celestia’s throne.

“Hey, honey,” she greeted amicably as soon as she caught sight of him, and Celestia and Twilight looked over as he took a seat by Celestia’s throne with them.

“Hey to you too, love of my life,” Jeremy equally casually greeted as he took Chrysalis into a hug. “What’s been going on?”

Chrysalis grinned. “Sam and I have been getting these two to work things out. I noticed they’ve been less friendly than usual, lately, so…”

Twilight blushed, and looked away. “I… I will admit I have not been trying my hardest to forgive Celestia for what she did. A-as a Princess of Friendship, I should be better at this,” she explained.

“And I say that you should not have to forgive me my crimes simply because I am your friend, Twilight,” Celestia immediately rebutted, sounding as though she’d been saying this for a while.

“Hence, our impasse,” Chrysalis muttered, before looking up at him. “Any ideas?”

Jeremy chuckled. “A few. For starters, Celestia’s right – the best thing you can do for a friend is let them know what they’re doing wrong. Staying silent when a friend is doing something terrible means you, too, are guilty of the Bystander Effect, and that’s no fun for anyone,” Jeremy explained.

“What is the Bystander Effect?” Twilight asked curiously.

“The Bystander Effect is when you don’t do anything to help someone in danger, either because other people are nearby and you assume they’ll take care of it, or because the person causing harm is a friend of yours, and you think their other friends will call them out on it instead of you. Essentially, the diffusion of responsibility causes each human to refuse to act, in the hopes that someone else will do it first,” Sam explained.

“How odd. Humans will not interfere in a dangerous situation simply because of proximity to other humans?” Celestia asked.

Jeremy nodded. “Like I said earlier, we make very unempathetic choices sometimes. So I want you two to not do what humans do, and for Twilight to start pointing out Celestia’s mistakes. Okay?” he asked, and Twilight reluctantly nodded, Celestia looking briefly triumphant. “That said,” he continued, causing the two of them to look at him in surprise. “Celestia, if Twilight chooses to forgive you even with the knowledge of what you did, there’s not a whole lot you can do about it. Best to just accept it even if you feel you don’t deserve it, and move on from there,” he counseled. This time it was Twilight’s turn to look smug, and Celestia’s to look away.

“So… can we… talk about humans? Now that we’re all here, and thinking about it?” Twilight asked. Jeremy and Sam looked at each other uncomfortably.

“Oh, come on! We promise we won’t judge!” Celestia pleaded.

“Oh… alright,” Jeremy sighed. “Let’s go get the others…”

Slowly, almost as if they were walking to a funeral, Jeremy and Sam made their way to the Secret Hallway, the other three uncertainly following behind.

You okay, honey? Chrysalis asked as they walked.

Not looking forward to this conversation… but I’ll live, Jeremy glumly answered.

They arrived in the Secret Hallway to find everyone else in their rooms, either reading books or listening to music.

“Everyone out here, team meeting,” Sam called.

Kylie immediately popped into the doorway, eyes alight with interest. “Team meeting? We’ve never called a team meeting before. What’s up?” he asked.

Sam sighed. “…Wait until the rest are here.”

The other five appeared, some reluctantly, some interested like Kylie had been, some merely bored. Sam had everyone sit in a circle in the middle of the hallway, turning into a flattened ellipse as more people showed up. Out of curiosity, Nightmare Moon and Sombra also decided to join the conversation.

“So, what’s up?” Nick asked.

“Yeah, who died? You two look so down,” Avery quipped.

Sam grimaced. “We’re here to have that conversation about humanity,” he explained.

Immediately, every single human adopted the exact same grimace, looking anywhere but at each other as Nightmare Moon and Sombra looked on interestedly.

“So… where do we… start?” Cory wondered awkwardly.

“Maybe we could start with history?” Nick replied. “You know, the full… account…” he trailed off.

Celestia looked at him sadly. “What have humans done, to make you all so reluctant to discuss it?” she wondered.

“W-well, we’re not so bad, as far as species go! It’s just… you…” Brayden trailed off.

“Me?” Celestia repeated, more confused than ever.

“More specifically, Equestria. This place is… well, it’s not perfect, but it’s a lot closer than we ever got. We’re all embarrassed because… well, if we told you the whole story, you’d probably be disgusted with us, at the very least,” Jeremy finally spoke up.

Celestia looked at him, dismayed. “But I said I wouldn’t judge!” she reminded him.

Jeremy shrugged. “You did. We believe that you’re incorrect.”

Chrysalis chose this moment to leap into the center of the circle, hackles raised. “Have you forgotten who’s present?” she furiously demanded. “Half of us are villains! We tortured, maimed and cheated for our own amusement, and you dare to presume us better than you?” she viciously lectured, stalking around.

“Well, you are,” Nick rebutted.

Chrysalis glared at him, her forest-green eyes staring into his lime green ones. “No. No, we’re really not,” she retorted. “Now get over yourselves, and spill it! Nothing’s going to be solved by sitting around and acting embarrassed for your entire species!”

Jeremy put a hand on her leg. “Hey, you alright?” he asked, concerned.

Chrysalis shifted her glare over to him, and Jeremy flinched backwards. Seeing this, Chrysalis’ gaze softened. “It’s just… you taught me that hating yourself, and your species for what we were was an unhealthy attitude to take. I wanted to tell them that, but… I got carried away. Sorry,” she apologized to the group, taking a seat.

“No, you know what? You’re totally right,” Cory spoke up, Chrysalis looking at him in surprise. “Why should we act all embarrassed about it? What are we, misanthropes? We have the opportunity to give the first known aliens to humankind a full, unbiased account of our history, and we’re going to squander it just because we’re feeling secondhand guilt?” The other humans considered this.

“Besides, now that all of you are here, you won’t have to worry about giving an inaccurate picture. After all, all seven of you can’t be wrong about the same stuff,” Twilight posited.

“Given we’re friends, and share similar political views, you’d be surprised about that. But… I see your point. So, how far back do we want to go? The very beginning?” Jeremy asked.

“Not that far, I think. Maybe start around… Roman times?” Sam rebutted.

“A bit earlier than that. We have to throw Aztec and Mayan society in there as well,” Avery countered.

And so, the discussion of Earth’s bloody, violent, and yet strangely productive history began. Nick spoke fondly of the tools and artifacts of prehistoric humanity, while Avery told of the sacrificial rituals of the Aztecs, the marble craftsmanship of the ancient Greeks, and the massive pyramids of the Egyptians. Sam and Brayden covered the Roman Empire and subsequent rise of Christianity, and Kylie proved a surprisingly well-educated speaker on the history of Europe. From there, Cory described in great detail the Renaissance, while Jeremy and Nick took turns discussing the Industrial Revolution and colonization of the Americas. Jeremy spoke at great length of the technology used in the World Wars, with much attention paid to the atomic bomb in particular. By then, it was time for dinner, and Celestia sent for packaged dinners to be brought to them in order to continue the discussion. As they spoke, the Equestrians asked questions, clarifying a detail here or a historical account there. Finally, Jeremy concluded the discussion by speaking about the Information Age, reminiscing about the invention of computers, television, phones, and many other important electronics. By the time they finished, it was close to midnight, and all of them felt as tired as they looked. Twilight was sitting next to a pile of notes nearly as tall as Celestia, papers spilling about the hallway as she tried to get every detail she could.

“…So, that’s everything, then. All of humanity’s history,” Chrysalis spoke up, after a moment of silence.

“Everything major. There’s plenty of stuff we didn’t cover, because if we even tried, we’d be here for at least a straight week,” Jeremy countered, leaning back and laying down on the carpeted floor.

“I… I hate to say it, but that was not nearly as bad as I was expecting,” Celestia noted.

“Really?” Sam asked incredulously, and Celestia nodded.

“War is nothing new to me, nor are your reasons for conflict. I have been around long enough to remember many similar conflicts, both in and out of Equestrian history.”

Brayden sighed. “Then why are you… why is Equestria so…” he trailed off.

“Peaceful?” Celestia supplied, and the seven humans chorused their confused affirmations.

Celestia chuckled. “I am not the only immortal ruler. Every country has at least one, each having found their own methods of immortality. And with that immortality, as you may have imagined, comes great wisdom. Not the wisdom you might think, though – we’re not all-knowing gods and goddesses. You know enough about me now to confirm that for yourselves.” There was a round of uncertain laughter from the humans. “Rather, the wisdom we immortals have obtained is that we’ve seen all this before. War, strife, disease – eventually, it all starts to repeat itself. We immortals became so good at pointing out the causes of these events to each other, that we have managed to find a sort of equilibrium – in which no conflict, plague or calamity occurs, simply because we have so much experience in preventing them we stop them before they even start. For a world ruled entirely by the mortal, I am not at all surprised that no such equilibrium exists,” Celestia explained.

“That… that actually makes sense, in a strange way,” Jeremy remarked, sitting up again.

“So… are we a bad sapient species?” Sam asked.

Celestia shook her head. “It is not your species’ fault, Sam. That is simply how mortal minds work, one way or another. They forget, and even if they do not forget, they cannot empathize as much as someone who has lived through such evils, so the lessons one generation learns diminish with the next, until they are once again lost. Besides… even if humanity was ‘bad’ before, you seven have an opportunity. What was it Cory said? That you should not squander it because you feel guilty? Yes, that. You have the opportunity to fix everything wrong with humanity, because you seven have been exposed to the magic of friendship – a magic which, I might remind you, is a very tangible and very powerful force,” Celestia continued, smiling slightly. “That is why you are here, and that is what should give you motivation to succeed. Not the threat of failure… but the ultimate prize of success, the reward for all of humanity. The chance to make things right,” Celestia finished.

There was a moment of silence, as every human digested this.

“…Right? Does that… make sense?” Celestia added, a note of uncertainty in her tone.

“Oh… c’mere, you,” Sam replied, grinning as he pulled Celestia into a hug. Celestia emitted a startled squeak, and Jeremy smiled over at the pair of them before joining the hug himself.

“Now you’re getting it,” he complimented her.

“Group hug, everyone in,” Brayden joyfully called, and the other humans quickly encircled Celestia, who was by now watery-eyed.

“I… you…” Celestia mumbled for a moment, before bursting into tears, beaming as she was hugged from all sides.

Chrysalis joined the hug as well, her long and thin forelegs able to wrap around half the group. “What? It’s a group hug,” she defended as Avery looked back at her in surprise.

Nightmare Moon circled around to the other side, just barely connecting with Chrysalis’ hooves as she hugged all of them with surprising strength.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been in a group hug this big,” Jeremy mused. “Hey… Sombra! Get in here, we need to make this group hug even bigger!”

Sombra, who had been circling around the hug uncertainly, appeared relieved at this excuse to join. “Um, yeah… where do I…?” he wondered, trying to hug the outside of the group and just barely managing to hug Avery and Cory.

“That’s fine,” Jeremy laughed, only seeing one of Sombra’s glowing eyes past the many entangled arms.

After a moment, they finally broke apart, laughing and sitting down again. “So, now what? It’s kind of late,” Kylie pointed out.

“Uh… well, before you all go off to sleep, I wanted to show you something,” Jeremy shyly began. He pulled out the drawing the changeling child had given him, hours ago. “One of the kids did this, and it is the best thing I’ve ever seen,” he explained, placing the drawing in the center so everyone could look at it.

“Our Future…” Celestia read out loud.

“Oh my goodness. That’s adorable!” Avery gushed, and Jeremy instantly perked up.

“Right? It’s the best thing ever!”

Chrysalis studied the drawing as well. “One of the little drones did this?” she wondered. Jeremy nodded, beaming. Chrysalis smiled. “Well, I was going to save this paper to one day teach a drone or two to do fancy portraits of me… but I think I like this better,” she murmured, picking it up.

Cory snorted. “I can do fancy portraits, easy. But a drawing like that, with real feeling put into it? That’s a lot harder. That’s real art right there.”

They retired to bed, Jeremy pausing to hang up the drawing just above their bedframe.

“So, I’m hearing tell from some of the nurses that you’ve been quite busy today,” Chrysalis murmured as they snuggled together.

Jeremy laughed quietly. “Yeah… all the little ones seem to consider me their dad, so I figured I might as well start acting like one…”

Chrysalis chuckled and kissed his cheek. “You’re a wonderful father,” she whispered. “They all love you so much…”

Jeremy smooched her on the cheek, heart practically jumping out of his chest in excitement and happiness. “I love you, Queen Chrysalis,” he whispered as soon as they broke apart.

“I love you, King Jeremy,” she returned, eyes watery as she beamed at him. They stayed like that for what seemed like hours, simply cuddling and enjoying the warmth of the other’s presence.

As Jeremy slipped away from the waking world, he awoke in a sunlit field of flowers. Flowers of every type and color stretched off into the distance, an endless plain of bright hues. He got to his feet, noting that the area he had been laying in was devoid of any flowers, a perfectly human-shaped patch of grass underneath him. He looked around, wondering how he had gotten here. He studied the flowers closest to him. The flower immediately in front of him was massive, perhaps the size of his torso, with hundreds and hundreds of emerald green petals on an inky black stem. Jeremy reached out and idly stroked a petal, and it shivered, quivering almost as if it enjoyed the touch. Jeremy drew his hand away, moving as if underwater, and stared at the flower, wondering why it had shivered. Finally, his gaze was drawn to the comparatively tiny flower next to it. This flower had two stems splitting out from the middle, with one being navy blue and the other a much darker shade of blue. Jeremy felt that this flower was very important, somehow, but in the dream he couldn’t exactly tell why. He reached out to touch this one, and was surprised to find it reacted before he even touched it. The darker blue flower was leaning toward him, and the lighter blue one was leaning away. The stem, caught between, was being stretched in both directions, and Jeremy could see a tiny split happening. Reluctantly, he withdrew his hand – somehow, he knew that it was very important that he treat these flowers carefully.

He looked at the other flowers, but they didn’t seem as important. A light yellow flower with a white stem was next to the two-headed blue one, and there were a few others of various colors. Uninterested, Jeremy returned his attention to the giant green flower, which had craned its stem so that the flower head seemed to be ‘looking’ at him. He reached out to touch it again, and it strained to meet his forefinger, shivering again as soon as it did so. Jeremy smirked in the dream, and boldly put his whole hand on the flower, rubbing it slightly. It shivered more, petals fluffing outward to provide more room for his hand to rub. Jeremy laughed, and leaned forward, encasing the flower in a hug and vaguely wondering why he was hugging a flower. It felt good, so he was in no mood to complain. He stayed there, hugging the flower, for the rest of the dream.

Jeremy awoke to find Chrysalis still asleep, a blissful smile on her face. Briefly, he wondered what his dream was about, but he was distracted when she shifted in her sleep, grumbling a bit as her smile disappeared. Immediately, he threw an arm around her, cuddling her close, and her smile slowly reappeared.

It took an hour of soft head-rubbing, gentle scratching of the ears, and the occasional nuzzle to get Chrysalis to wake up. She cracked an eye open, bemused but still smiling.

“I wondered why I was so comfortable,” she joked quietly, and Jeremy softly laughed.

“Morning, sweetie. Ready for a new day?” he asked.

Chrysalis stretched out her legs, yawning, then flopped back onto the bed. “Now that we’re free… I think we should actually just enjoy ourselves,” she proposed.

Jeremy snorted in amusement. “I’ve yet to not enjoy myself, around you,” he returned, and Chrysalis blushed furiously.

“S-stop, someone’s going to hear you,” she whispered, grinning and trying not to laugh.

They visited the dining hall, only to find it empty. “Ah, we must have overslept,” Jeremy grumbled, stomach complaining in tandem.

“Want to go out to lunch, then?” Chrysalis offered, hefting a bag of bits in her magic.

Jeremy looked at her strangely. “Where did you get that?” he wondered.

Chrysalis shrugged. “You brought it into the bedroom last night. This is ‘money,’ right?” she asked.

Jeremy nodded, walking back through the empty throne room and towards the front door of the palace. “Oh, right… yeah, that’s money. Apparently that’s quite a lot of money, too, though I’m not quite sure. Equestrian currency is a bit new to me,” he joked, grinning expectantly.

“Why are you… oh, really? ‘Bit’? Honey…” Chrysalis complained at the awful pun.

Jeremy burst out laughing, and Chrysalis glared at him, even though she was still smiling.

They found their lunch at a cozy little café titled ‘Clawfee Shop,’ run by a rather well-dressed griffon. Jeremy chose a meat sandwich, as was typical for him, while Chrysalis elected to try the chicken salad. Jeremy made no comment until she had already taken a bite, watching her expectantly.

“What?” Chrysalis said, noticing his stare through a mouthful of salad.

“You… do know that chicken salad contains chicken, right? That’s a type of meat…” Jeremy trailed off.

“Really? I thought it tasted good. How odd…” Chrysalis wondered, staring down at the rest of her sandwich apprehensively.

“Say, I know the palace replicates their meat by magic. But what about this guy? Does he actually use real chickens?” Jeremy wondered.

“No, it was on the menu at the bottom. ‘The meat products included here are a product of magic, and no living creatures were harmed in their making,” Chrysalis quoted.

“Huh. How ‘bout that. Maybe it’s standard practice even without the upcoming griffon meeting, or something,” Jeremy mused.

“Speaking of which…” Chrysalis dropped her voice, looking around for a moment. “Wouldn’t that be an excellent opportunity for something to go ‘horribly wrong’?” she whispered.

Jeremy nodded. “Yeah, it would. I was wondering about that myself… glad you caught on.” A thought occurred to him. Wait, why are we talking out loud anyway? We have telepathy, he sent.

Oh… right. Um. I’m not actually… well, sometimes when I use telepathy, I remember… his voice, she sent back, looking awkwardly away.

“Oh, okay,” Jeremy whispered, immediately switching back to non-telepathic communication in the hopes of not upsetting her.

“Sorry…” Chrysalis whispered.

“Don’t worry about it, girl. I understand,” Jeremy dismissed.

Having finished their lunch, Jeremy and Chrysalis returned to the palace to find Celestia and both Elements of Harmony, as well as Starlight Glimmer, amidst what appeared to be some kind of team meeting.

“Hey!” Jeremy complained as soon as they caught sight of the pair. “A meeting, and nobody invited us?”

Celestia snorted. “Cadance and Shining Armor are also not present,” she pointed out.

“…Still. What’s going on?” Jeremy asked, taking a seat with the others as Chrysalis curled up in his lap.

“Just figuring out what to do today,” Celestia informed him.

“Gotta plan out a friendship lesson, or something,” Sam added.

“Right, right. Um… well… does anyone want to hang out with some changelings? I could use some help taking care of all of them, and it’d be a good cultural exchange,” Jeremy offered.

“I thought you’d never ask!” Avery exclaimed, standing up.

“Can we hug them?” Brayden wondered.

“You’ll have to ask them, but I don’t see why not,” Jeremy immediately answered.

“Can we throw a party for them?” Pinkie gasped. “A ‘Welcome-Back-to-Canterlot-Sorry-About-The-War-Party’?”

Jeremy laughed. “Sure, why not? Just don’t startle them too much. They’re still getting used to the whole ‘not fighting’ thing,” he cautioned.

Pinkie nodded so rapidly her head was a blur, and zoomed away, leaving a pink cloud in the shape of her body as she disappeared.

Chrysalis watched where she had been silently. “I fear that mare,” she spoke up, and Rainbow laughed.

“That’s Pinkster for ya. Don’t worry, she’s chill,” the cyan athlete dismissed.

“I would like to hug a changeling…” Fluttershy muttered, just barely audible.

“I… I don’t understand. We were just enemies. Aren’t you… supposed to be still getting over that?” Chrysalis asked, looking suspiciously at the nine ponies.

“We… we’re a little apprehensive, sure,” Twilight allowed, looking around at the others. “But how are we going to make any progress if we don’t try to put aside our fears?”

Celestia nodded. “I, for one, would love to see how changelings act when not fighting. I admit, I have always been curious about your kind. Perhaps you could show us more of your history?” she asked.

Chrysalis looked at Jeremy. They’re so… friendly. Is this normal? she asked.

Hard to say, Jeremy answered. This might be the setup to a ‘hilarious’ mishap between our two races, which results in a happy ending where we understand and respect each other just a bit more. Go with it? he decided.

“…Alright,” Chrysalis hesitantly answered. “Let’s… um… go, then.”

Should we invite Sombra and Nightmare Moon, too? I haven’t really been… doing stuff with them lately, Jeremy guiltily noted.

No, they’re busy. They told me last night about a ‘surprise’ they’d been working on, Chrysalis answered.

Oh? That sounds interesting. I wonder what they’re doing… Jeremy trailed off, noticing the others were staring at the pair of them. “Right, sorry, yeah… let’s head out, then,” he decided, laughing awkwardly.

Jeremy led the way, strolling through the streets of Canterlot with the rest just behind him. “So, how does ‘sharing love’ work?” Brayden asked him and Chrysalis, the rest falling silent to hear the answer.

“Any kind thought or positive feeling directed at a specific changeling, disguised or not, is something they can feed off of. General positivity can also be fed off of, though it’s both less filling and weaker in potency,” Chrysalis explained.

“Intimate contact such as hugging enhances the effect,” Jeremy added, and Chrysalis nodded.

“Can changelings share love with each other?” Twilight asked.

Chrysalis reluctantly nodded. “I… suppose they can. That’s still very strange to me – how could a lowly drone like Thorax have accidentally stumbled upon such a viable source of love, when none of the Queens ever figured it out? Hespera, at the very least, should have been able to do that. Reduuva as well,” Chrysalis mumbled.

“They probably had a lot more to worry about – establishing a fledgling hive, taking care of their subjects, avoiding ponies’ wrath,” Jeremy countered. “Besides, the past is the past. You can focus on our failings then, or do what I do and focus on the future. I’m looking forward to seeing a bunch of non-hungry changelings,” Jeremy encouraged her.

“Yeah… yeah, you’re right,” Chrysalis agreed after a moment.

They hiked down the sloping mountain trail, Jeremy sweating slightly in the afternoon sun.

“You okay, honey?” Chrysalis asked, seeing the sheen on his forehead.

“I’m fine, just a little hot. I’ll be better once we get inside again,” Jeremy dismissed.

“Sun’s not good for Jeremy. He bursts into flame after a few hours,” Sam joked.

“What?!” both Chrysalis and Celestia cried in unison, looking at Jeremy in horror.

He rolled his eyes, chuckling. “He’s joking. I just don’t get enough sunlight regularly,” Jeremy retorted.

“…Oh,” Chrysalis replied uncertainly.

“Sorry, I didn’t think you’d take it so… literally…” Sam apologized, with a worried look at her.

Chrysalis sighed. “Honestly, that’s one of my biggest fears. That what I consider a normal thing to do or experience, like sunlight, or draining love, or something will turn out to be fatal to him, because he’s from a different planet, and I'll lose him forever. It’s just…” she trailed off, looking for the right words to say.

“Relax, honey. If I can survive a dance-off with Tirek, I can survive whatever you throw at me,” Jeremy snarked. Besides, it’s not like you can kill me permanently. Anything that did accidentally happen would just tip me off about it as soon as I go back, he added in her head.

“Wait. You had a dance-off with Lord Tirek?” Rainbow asked incredulously.

Jeremy laughed and nodded. “And it was glorious,” he answered, and that was all he said on the matter.

Finally, they arrived in the atrium cave. As soon as Jeremy’s shoe hit the floor, causing a soft echo of his step to be sent throughout the entire cave, every single changeling looked up in unison, causing most of the ponies to cringe.

Jeremy, however, was unperturbed. “Hi, everyone!” he called up cheerfully.

“Hi, my King!” they chorused back in perfect unison, and Jeremy laughed at their enthusiasm.

“Why are they here, my King?” a nearby drone asked, looking at the ponies and humans with some apprehension.

“They’ve agreed to learn about changeling culture, so the Queen and I will be escorting them around and talking about stuff,” Jeremy explained.

The changeling brightened. “Oh, okay! Let us know if you need any help.” Jeremy nodded and thanked him, and the drone returned to the miniature, hoof-carved cave that served as his bed.

“So… all the drones live in this cave?” Celestia asked, looking around.

“Yeah,” Jeremy answered. “I do still wish we could get them beds…”

Chrysalis snorted. “If they feel cold or uncomfortable, they can build cocoons, honey. They’re okay.”

Jeremy sighed. “If you say so..."

"Okay, so, I suppose we'll start the 'tour' now. This main cave is where most of our drones live, and work. The smaller ones have a cave of their own, and the hatchlings are hidden somewhere. We’re not going to take you to the hatchlings, because they’re not ready to see anyone besides the hatchery drones or the King and Queen, but I suppose we can let you visit the nursery,” Chrysalis began.

“Normally that’s a pretty big deal for outsiders, so feel honored, okay?” Jeremy added with a grin at Celestia and Twilight, the latter of whom was already taking notes.

“Just be very careful around the little ones, no matter what. Especially you, ‘Rainbow Dash,’” Chrysalis snarled threateningly.

“And just what is that supposed to mean?!” Rainbow retorted, already in the air and firing up.

Applejack pulled her tail, causing her to crash back down to the ground. “It means ‘be careful around the lil’ wigglers,’ sugarcube. No shoutin’, no ‘encouragement,’ and no competition,” Applejack explained dryly.

“Thank you, Applejack. The small ones are very sensitive to noise and high emotions,” Chrysalis agreed.

“Aww, but that’s like half of who I am…” whined Rainbow.

“Then exercise your other half, it’s healthy,” Jeremy snarked, causing a few humans and ponies to burst into giggles.

They finally arrived at the makeshift nursery, the assorted humans and ponies blinking at the powerful green lights glowing overhead.

“Why is this place so green? It’s horrible for my complexion,” Rarity complained.

“We keep it this way to get the small ones more used to the surface light. Otherwise, it’d hurt a lot when they went outside for the first time,” Jeremy explained.

“Daddy!” a tiny changeling cried out, looking at him exuberantly. Jeremy instantly beamed as they came running over, tripping over themselves in their haste to greet him.

“Hello, tiny friend!” he called back as they leaped into his arms, giggling and kissing every inch of him they could reach.

“Awww…” Brayden and Fluttershy whispered in unison, causing the tiny changeling’s ear to twitch.

They looked over and pointed at the assorted group of humans and ponies. “Who dat?” they asked curiously. Jeremy smiled. “Those are some of my friends. They’re here to learn things,” he explained.

“They want hug?” the changeling asked.

“They absolutely want hug,” Jeremy affirmed, setting the changeling down on the ground, where they bolted for the closest pony – Rainbow Dash. Without skipping a beat, they tackled her to the floor, where they promptly repeated the same motions they had done for Jeremy, Dash spluttering and laughing as the changeling did its best to hug and kiss her face.

“Don’t crowd them,” Jeremy called out as the others made to circle around and watch, and they obediently backed off.

“So, does this little one have a name?” Celestia asked.

Jeremy shook his head. “As it stands now, changelings don’t get names until they’re older and have done something for the Hive. About three-quarters of all of our current changelings don’t have a name, they’re just referred to as ‘drone' or 'you there' or 'them'. Something else I hope to change…”

Chrysalis nodded. “Someday, I hope to spend some time coming up with names for all of them. But with how busy my King is going to be, I’ve been putting it off so I can help him more,” she added with a significant look at Jeremy.

“Also, all changelings are genderless unless they choose to be otherwise. Pronouns are they/them/it, as well as whatever else they decide to add,” Jeremy continued, Twilight furiously scribbling.

“Is Thorax ‘genderless’?” Applejack asked, pronouncing the word as though unfamiliar with it.

“He wanted to be male, for whatever reason. I allowed it because at the time, he was better at disguising as males anyway,” Chrysalis answered.

“Are you genderless?” Sam asked her.

Chrysalis considered for a moment. “Biologically, I suppose… but by my own personal choice, I am female.”

Jeremy snorted. “Her pronouns are ‘Your Majesty’ and ‘the Queen’ respectively,” he joked, and Chrysalis burst out laughing.

By this time, more of the small ones had ventured out to discover the source of the commotion, and one brushed by Fluttershy’s foreleg. Curious about the tall yellow thing in front of it, it sniffed once, bumping its nose against her leg in confusion.

“Oh my goodness, hello, little one!” she softly cajoled, leaning down to stare at it eye to eye as she smiled.

The tiny changeling tilted its head in confusion at the much larger head in front of it, before reaching out a hoof and booping her on the nose. Fluttershy, taken aback, crossed her eyes to look at the spot where she had been booped, before breaking out into full-on giggles as she nuzzled the tiny changeling, who smiled and nuzzled back. The changeling in Dash’s embrace, watching this, reached out a hoof of their own and booped her nose, causing Dash and Jeremy both to stifle a giggle. Emboldened by the success of their peers, more changelings swarmed forward to try the new thing, and Jeremy watched on in great satisfaction as every single human and pony eventually succumbed to the flood of tiny, smiling changelings. Celestia in particular had five or six, playing around in her pink hair or snuffling at her wings before cuddling up with the others underneath the front of her belly as she happily snuggled them.

“Wow. This worked… really well,” Chrysalis noted.

“Yeah… Like I said. They’re super adorable,” Jeremy reminded her, to a chorus of affirmations from everybody else.

“Thorax once told me that changeling foals were… well, they made a lot of rasping noises like he did, almost constantly. I imagine that those were less pleasant to deal with,” Starlight spoke up.

“That would be because they were hungry,” Chrysalis informed her. “I imagine pony foals are also less pleasant when they are hungry.”

Celestia snorted, raising her head from where she had been laying it gently on the changelings in her embrace. “Fair enough,” she agreed, as the changelings below her whined in complaint at the loss of warmth.

A few changelings who had not managed to find a human or pony to snuggle with wandered over to Jeremy, and he happily picked them up and began petting them, the changelings emitting soft coos of satisfaction as they tried to wriggle further into his warm embrace.

“What are human foals like?” Chrysalis asked, sensing a lull in the conversation.

“Oh, they’re horrible,” Jeremy instantly replied.

“Yeah…” Sam reluctantly agreed.

“Their only response to everything is crying. They wail when they’re hungry, thirsty, angry, lonely, queasy, or… well, anything else, really. They throw things, grab onto people in painful places, and cannot control their own bodily functions, so things quite often get... messy,” Jeremy explained.

“Yeah, they’re super loud. Not like these cute little guys,” Avery noted, rubbing one’s nose with a finger.

“Changelings express their needs in a different way. Because they are connected to the Hive mind at birth, every changeling close by is automatically aware of exactly what they are feeling. Most changelings dislike the intensely foalish nature of these feelings and thoughts, which is why the only ones that interact with the little ones on a regular basis are the trained nursery drones, myself, and my King. So, in our own way, dealing with the little ones can be unpleasant as well,” Chrysalis revealed.

“Huh. How come I haven’t been feeling any of that?” Jeremy wondered.

“Our crowns allow us to ignore such low-level thoughts if we so desire, and both I and the other changelings have noticed that you do not speak mentally very often,” Chrysalis observed in response.

“Oh. Well… I’m not very used to it,” Jeremy answered, feeling slightly guilty.

“It’s alright, we understand. Take your time,” Chrysalis politely dismissed.

“So… ‘speaking mentally?’ How does that work?” Twilight asked.

“We’re all connected to a hive mind, a vast mental network of information and consciousness that apparently houses the minds of all changelings, living and dead. So we can all speak to each other using this network, a bit like telepathy. It’s tied to our crowns as well, so we’re a lot more mentally ‘powerful’ than the other changelings, doubly so when we’re wearing these,” Jeremy explained, looking at Chrysalis.

“Changeling royalty can actually control the minds of others, which… I haven’t tried to use often,” Chrysalis muttered, distinctly looking away from Twilight. “The old King stayed in power that way – either controlling or killing any changeling who disagreed with him. Now that he’s gone, I… really don’t want to do that. So, Jeremy and I simply give orders or suggestions through the hive mind.”

Noticing Chrysalis’ apprehension, Jeremy nudged a few of the changelings towards her, and they wandered over to plant gentle kisses on her hooves and try to fit themselves in the holes in her legs. Surprised, Chrysalis eventually relaxed slightly, smiling as she allowed them to play with her legs and hair.

“So, how does this connection vary with distance? For example, can you tell what Thorax is saying right now?” Celestia wondered.

“No, he’s too far away. It gets weaker by distance,” Chrysalis answered. They played with the smaller ones for a moment in silence, most of whom had already fallen asleep, their bellies swollen with a full meal of love. One of the few who was still awake was scrunching up its little face, its horn giving off sparks of green as the assorted humans and ponies watched. There was a wash of green fire across its body, and it expanded, transforming into Princess Celestia as the others gaped in shock.

“Whoa,” Avery breathed, and the Celestia-lookalike glanced over at him, a puzzled frown on her face. Jeremy stifled a giggle, and she noticed this, trotting over to him on unsteady legs as she emitted sounds that were far too young for her new appearance.

“Well, aren’t you an overachiever?” Jeremy praised, scratching the changeling’s neck as she leaned into him and purred.

Celestia watched on in bemusement. “So that’s what I look like,” she observed.

“Never thought ah’d see Celestia actin’ like a lil’ foal,” Applejack snorted, and Rainbow laughed.

“We should put her on the throne, see what happens,” the cyan pegasus joked.

Chrysalis smirked. “Well, Celestia? I don’t think it’d make much of a difference to the public,” she added, as Jeremy continued to cuddle and praise the faux-Celestia.

The real Celestia chuckled, watching almost enviously as Jeremy scratched her counterpart’s pink hair. “It would raise a few eyebrows… maybe,” she retorted.

Just then, the changeling Jeremy was petting transformed back with another wash of green fire, looking disappointed and tired. Jeremy held it close, smooching it on the cheek. “Don’t look so sad! You did very well,” he encouraged.

Sam laughed. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you be this much of a dad before, Jeremy,” he ribbed. “Normally you’re locked away in your room, building robots or something!”

Jeremy laughed amicably. “True, but that was before I had over sixty children,” he returned.

Celestia’s jaw dropped. “S…sixty children? I thought you and Chrysalis never…” she trailed off, aware that everyone else was looking at her.

“Adopted children,” Jeremy clarified, trying his best not to laugh, and Celestia rapidly nodded.

“Right! Right, that makes more… sense,” she hastily agreed, looking around awkwardly.

“Alright, these ones are just about asleep,” Jeremy decided, gently setting down the one he had been petting and standing up. “Want to move on?” There were groans of protest, and Jeremy laughed softly as to not wake the sleeping foals. “I know, I know. You can always come back and visit! I know the nurses would be thrilled at a steady source of food for the little ones.”

Chrysalis snorted as the group began moving back into the atrium cavern. “Oh, you have no idea. Being a nurse used to be the most stressful job in the entire Hive, to the point where I reserved all my best drones for that task. Well… all the best drones that were left.”

Celestia flinched slightly. “How many died in the invasions?” she wondered softly.

“A hundred and forty-eight,” Chrysalis instantly and flatly answered. “They all died during the first invasion, when the love shockwave Cadance created pressed them against buildings.”

Celestia gasped. “I… I’m so sorry,” she apologized, eyes watering.

Chrysalis shrugged. “Don’t be, I can just re-birth them whenever I get around to it,” she replied indifferently. Celestia looked at her strangely, pausing a moment to dry her eyes.

“Re-birth? What does that mean?” Twilight asked curiously.

“Changeling personalities are all stored in the hive mind, from birth until death,” Jeremy answered. “When a changeling dies, its consciousness can be re-used in a newly born changeling baby, which gradually assumes the former personality as the changeling grows up. With recent… population trends… due to starvation, there are currently more stored souls within the hive mind than there are available bodies.”

Rarity raised her hoof as though in a classroom, and Jeremy glanced at her. “How… many stored souls are in the hive mind?” she wondered.

“About ten thousand, including those that are alive,” Chrysalis answered. “The current population of my hive is one thousand, eight hundred and twenty-six changelings.” Applejack swallowed nervously, and Rainbow whistled, clearly impressed.

“You mentioned other Queens back at your old Hive. Are they in the hive mind as well?” Brayden asked.

“The Queens are… a special case,” Chrysalis carefully answered. “They are specifically stored within me, and every Queen is essentially a different incarnation of the same being – Hespera, the first Queen. That’s why my voice sounds the way it does,” she explained.

“So how many Queens have there been?” Cory asked.

“Nine,” Chrysalis answered. “Hespera, Reduuva, Mimica, Aranea, Reclusa, Avicularia, Diptera, Vespula, and me, Chrysalis.”

Avery raised an eyebrow. “How come your name doesn’t end with an ‘a’?” he asked.

“It did, once. I was born and raised Princess Chrysalia, until I… well, until I met him,” Chrysalis explained, the disgust in her voice making sure they all knew which him she was referring to. “I renamed myself ‘Chrysalis’ to sound less… young,” she muttered. From the expression of surprise on Jeremy’s face, it was clear to everyone that this was as new to him as it was to them.

“’Chrysalia,’ huh?” Jeremy remarked, trying the name out. “Not bad… but I think ‘Chrysalis’ does suit you better.”

Chrysalis gave him a fanged smile. “Thanks, honey,” she replied, and everyone could see a slight but unmistakable spring in her step as she led them onwards.

“Why do you have holes in your legs?” Pinkie asked as they reached the center of the atrium cave.

“Why do you have pink hair? We just do,” Chrysalis retorted.

Jeremy chuckled, then did a double take. “Hey, when’d you get here, anyway? Last we saw of you, you were running off to plan… the…” Jeremy trailed off as he beheld the sight in front of him.

Without anyone managing to even notice, Pinkie had transformed the entire atrium cave into a massive party, streamers and balloons decorating the ceiling and massive tables of colorful food laid out all around the cavern. A drone trotted up to him, looking nervous.

“My King… do you know what she’s doing? She just kind of… appeared, and began placing all this here,” they whispered, apparently forgetting that Pinkie was less than four feet away from the two of them.

“It’s called a ‘party.’ Basically, a time to get together and be merry about something,” Jeremy explained.

The drone cocked their head. “A ‘party’? I’ve heard of those… never been to one. Are we supposed to do anything in particular?”

Pinkie giggled. “It’s an excuse to be happy, silly! To have fun, play games, and have a good time!”

Jeremy chuckled. “Yeah, that. In this case… what are we partying about exactly, Pinkie?” he asked.

“This is a ‘Sorry-About-the-War-Can-We-Be-Friends-Now?-Party!” Pinkie enthusiastically answered.

The changeling perked up. “So… this party… is a way of asking to be our friends?” they clarified. Pinkie rapidly nodded, and the changeling smiled. “That sounds nice! Um… what’s with all the pony food?” they asked.

“So you can eat it, silly! Changelings can totally eat pony food, we saw Queen Chrysalis doing it!” Pinkie informed them.

“So… we eat a lot of food, we’re happy… this sounds a lot like what our Queen promised us after the Canterlot invasion…” the changeling observed. Chrysalis flinched, ears splaying backwards.

“Well, it is after the invasion, and she did technically help set this up. So, I think she kept her promise,” Jeremy immediately returned, smiling slightly.

The changeling considered this for a moment. “Yeah… I guess she did…” they pondered.

“Yeah she did! Let’s get this party started!” Pinkie announced, zipping off elsewhere to explain the concept of partying to more changelings.

A few minutes later, Pinkie had set up several games, and explained how to play them. The changelings were confused at first, wondering what the point of it all was, but they slowly began smiling and playing along as they discovered how entertaining each of the games were. Pinkie, as always, kept a bright and cheerful smile as she helped them along, beaming every time one of them smiled back.

“She really is trying hard,” Jeremy observed from the sidelines as Pinkie showed a group of changelings how to play an indoor basketball net she had somehow obtained.

“That’s Pinkie for ya,” Applejack agreed with a smile.

“They’re all… enjoying themselves. Smiling, and… and having… fun,” Chrysalis quietly noted, looking around.

Jeremy wrapped an arm around her neck. “They deserve it,” he softly replied. “And hey… you deserve it too. Wanna go out and try some of the games?”

Chrysalis appeared uncertain. “First… can I… can I try something?” she asked, looking around nervously.

“Oh? Sure,” Jeremy replied, the other humans and ponies watching curiously.

Chrysalis took a deep breath, shaking slightly, and Jeremy detected nothing short of a flood of doubt and fear coming from her, nearby changelings pausing to look at her in concern. He knelt down and hugged her tightly, stroking her hair.

“I’m right here. I promise you’ll be okay,” he murmured.

Slowly, her fear died down, to be replaced with a stronger emotion, one that Jeremy had only truly seen in her a rare few times. She looked into his eyes, the weight of a thousand years of pain and suffering reflected in her forest-green gaze. Jeremy smiled encouragingly at her, and she smiled back.

“This day has been just perfect… the kind of day of which I dreamed since I was small…” she whispered.

“Changelings and ponies are now friends, here together until the end, and a new day of love and peace has dawned for us all…” Jeremy completed, not sure where the words were coming from.

And just like that, the weight had been lifted. Her lips brushed against his, so softly and quietly that Jeremy was not even sure she had moved her head forward. The love emitted from her thickened to a tidal wave of emotion, and had Jeremy’s eyes been open, he would have noticed that nearby changelings were getting physically pushed back from the raw magical force of her love. Chrysalis began to glow with a blinding white light, causing everyone to shield their eyes as her love took physical form around her body, a sphere of white magic enveloping her and lifting her gently away from Jeremy’s grasp. Jeremy looked up, opening his eyes again, and immediately squeezed them shut as the light assaulted his retinas, Chrysalis lost amidst the glow. He blinked a few times and looked up again, too stunned to even speak. He remained silent as the light slowly dissipated, and Chrysalis gently descended to the ground once more.

Chrysalis opened her eyes and looked down at herself. “Wh…what?” she asked, her voice reverberating throughout the cavern as not a single changeling dared to speak. “But I… I thought I… wasn’t I supposed to transform? To be… perfect?” she worried, looking down at her hooves and beginning to tear up. “I don’t understand… why didn’t it work?” she asked again, speaking to herself.

Jeremy smiled and hugged her. “It did work. Anyone got a mirror?” he called out. Pinkie pulled a hand mirror out of her mane and handed it over. “See? Your horn’s different, and the holes in your legs are gone,” Jeremy pointed out as Chrysalis examined her appearance.

“But… that’s barely a change. I was… I was supposed to be beautiful,” Chrysalis choked, tearing up again.

“You already were beautiful,” Jeremy insisted. “You don’t need some magical transformation to be pretty, alright? You’ve always been beautiful to me.”

Chrysalis sniffled a bit. “R-really? I’m not… I’m not a hideous, ugly, freakishly-proportioned insect?” she asked in a low voice.

Jeremy took her into a hug. “No, you’re not. You’re my beautiful, gorgeous changeling girlfriend, who doesn’t need any magical transformation to tell her how to look,” he softly answered. Chrysalis still looked uncertain, so Jeremy cupped her chin in his hand. “Chrysalis, before I met you, I didn’t have any plans for romance. I was never going to get married, or have kids, or have a family. But now? I… I want to. I want to do each and every one of those things, and I want to do them with you. So, um… I hope this isn’t a b-bad time or anything, but now seems like the right moment to ask… Queen Chrysalis, you’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. Will you… will you marry me?” Jeremy asked, to the gasps of every changeling, pony and human in the room.

Chrysalis stared at him with wide eyes. “Y-you mean it?” she whispered. Jeremy nodded, smiling even as he was crying.

“I’ve never meant anything more in my entire life,” he whispered back.

Chrysalis stared a moment more. “Y…yes…” she breathed, barely audible. “YES!” she squealed, tackling him and kissing him all over his face as Jeremy laughed in relief.

“Awww…” the assorted ponies and humans called out, recalling the two of them to their senses.

“Right, um… sorry, I’m supposed to have a ring for you,” Jeremy remembered, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.

“I don’t care if you don’t have a ring! I’m going to be married!” Chrysalis shouted with joy, dancing around him. She stopped suddenly, glancing at him almost sheepishly. “I mean, not to disrespect your marriage customs, or anything, it’s just…” she was silenced as Jeremy kissed her on the lips.

“It’s fine,” he soothed. “We can always get a ring later. Besides, this way we can have it custom-made. The most beautiful ring, for the most beautiful mare…” he trailed off, beaming at her.

Chrysalis blushed and looked away. “You really believe that, don’t you?” she quietly asked, smiling back.

“I never believed otherwise,” Jeremy answered.

“Just make out already!” Sam called out, startling them, and Jeremy burst into laughter.

“Let’s save that for later,” he called back, grinning exuberantly. “For now… let’s party!” The entire cavern of changelings cheered in agreement, the very stones vibrating with the force of their enthusiasm.

“Ooh! Engagement party! I’ll go get the cakes!” Pinkie called, zipping around the cavern before disappearing once more, the balloons and streamers having now changed color to white and pink.

Now that the changelings actually had a reason to party, they did so with gusto, smiling happily as they danced, played games, laughed, and enjoyed the food Pinkie had mysteriously conjured. The humans and ponies happily joined in, whether it was Cory giving the younger changelings some art tips, Rarity discussing the latest trends with the trio of changeling fashion designers, or Kylie out-eating everybody in the entire Hive, humans and ponies included. Chrysalis in particular simply couldn’t keep a smile off her face, and every time she so much as glanced in Jeremy’s direction her eyes started watering with joy again. Jeremy, who was well aware of this, made sure to slip in a hug or a gentle smooch every now and then, leading her around to enjoy the games. He suspected she wasn’t enjoying the party so much as she was enjoying herself: For the first time in her life, Chrysalis had finally set down the burdens she’d been carrying for so long. Her happiness was infectious, and changelings around her found themselves laughing and hugging her, only to yelp in surprise as she hugged them right back as hard as she could. A few of the young ones came up to Jeremy, all of them giggling as a certain familiar changeling revealed a new drawing – that of him and Chrysalis at a wedding. Jeremy instantly pointed this out to Chrysalis, who gushed almost as much as he did at the cute sight. She hugged every single young one, and smooched Jeremy on the cheek again before Pinkie and Rainbow called her away to try another game.

“Mama is very happy!” one of the younger ones noticed, smiling.

“She is, isn’t she?” Jeremy agreed, watching her with a small smile. “I guess you could say she finally achieved her dream.”

Pinkie brought out the engagement cake, and Jeremy was surprised to find that it was a towering, gargantuan creation of buttercream frosting and vanilla cake mix, which Pinkie started handing out slices of as soon as it fit through the cave entrance. On top were a pair of plastic figurines of him and Chrysalis, and though Jeremy had no idea where Pinkie obtained them he had to admit that they were quite accurate. The little plastic version of him was kneeling down, Chrysalis’ front hooves in his hands as the plastic Chrysalis looked up at him with a clear expression of adoration.

“Huh, they’re like… little toys of us,” Jeremy realized, noticing the articulated joints. But who could have made these? He decided to ignore his curiosity and instead focus on the real issue, which was the fact that he hadn’t stuffed himself with cake yet.

Chapter 11

An hour later, the party was finally winding down. Changelings were stumbling around, either still attempting to party or having given up any pretense of doing so and instead sleeping, their bellies round and smiles on their faces.

Celestia trotted up to Jeremy, cake frosting and crumbs still smeared around her lips and face.

“Girl, you still haven’t cleaned yourself off yet? The nobles are going to flip their lids,” Jeremy teased her.

“In fairness, cleaning an entire slice of cake off of one’s face is rather difficult,” Celestia retorted.

“Maybe you should return the favor? I’m pretty sure there’s a slice of uneaten cake somewhere, and Rainbow’s face is suspiciously clean,” Jeremy noted, glancing at the cyan pegasus in question, who was snoozing atop a pile of changelings.

“Maybe later, when she’s awake. I actually wanted to talk to you for a bit,” Celestia began.

“Yeah? Go ahead,” Jeremy allowed, taking a seat on the cavern floor as she carefully did the same, licking some of the frosting off of her face.

“It’s just… don’t take this the wrong way, but are you sure you’ve thought out your engagement? Most ponies don’t get engaged so early into a relationship,” Celestia reminded him.

Jeremy shrugged. “That’s because most ponies and humans aren’t as close as we are already. We’ve already lived together, slept together, ate together, raised kids together, escaped Tartarus together… I can’t really think of anything that would drive us apart, at this point. Somebody once put it best when they told me that I haven’t found ‘the one’ until I’ve seen them at their worst and love them anyway, and, well… we’ve all seen Chrysalis at her worst.”

Celestia nodded. “A fair point... just remember – communication is the key to a healthy relationship,” she remarked, with a slight glance at Twilight.

Jeremy, catching this, looked at her sympathetically. “How are you two getting along?” he asked pointedly, and Celestia sighed.

“Well… we talked about some things a few minutes ago. Nothing terribly important, but at least she and I are on speaking terms again…”

Jeremy smiled, patting her on the withers. “Glad to hear it... Hey, that reminds me. How’s Tartarus doing, anyway? Wouldn’t want another pony or human falling into it, after all…”

Celestia stiffened. “Well, it’s… closed. I sealed it off again, this time just with some molten rock over the entrance. Hopefully the residual anti-trespassing spells will discourage anypony from sticking around long enough to discover a new entrance.”

Jeremy hummed in thought. “There was a separate entrance I encountered and apparently fell into, but I’m not quite sure where in Equestria it is. Wherever Cerberus hangs out, it’s very close to that. Still, if Tartarus is empty, they shouldn’t be in any severe danger so long as they manage to make their way to the Secret Elevator…” Jeremy mused.

“I have many spells in place to tell me who is in there at any given time, so I do not think we have to worry about some poor pony getting lost in the ruins… but I shall begin searching for this other entrance,” Celestia acquiesced.

“So it’s closed for good, then? Did you at least retrieve the computers? Those could be useful," Jeremy noted.

Celestia shrugged. “To be honest, I don’t miss them. I first saw computers a very long time ago, and for the life of me I just can’t seem to replicate them. The Harmony Labs versions were the best we could do, and even then, they were…” she trailed off.

“Bad?” Jeremy supplied with a knowing smile, and Celestia snorted with amusement.

“Yes, they were,” she agreed.

“Maybe I’ll teach you how to build a real computer some time. The logic is complicated, and the manufacturing's a pain, but you’ll get the hang of it,” Jeremy offered.

“I would like that,” Celestia answered, smiling at him.

A half hour later, as Jeremy and Chrysalis made to wrap things up and leave, the assorted humans and ponies in tow, they were suddenly hoisted into the air by a group of changelings.

“Whoa!” Jeremy called out as he found himself atop three or four, who were supporting his weight with seemingly little difficulty as they bore him forward to the exit.

“What is the meaning of this?” Chrysalis demanded, seemingly frightened.

“Long live the King! Long live the Queen! Long live us!” the changelings below them cheered happily, and Chrysalis stared at them in surprise as they carried her and Jeremy to the cave exit.

“I think they’re honoring our engagement,” Jeremy called over, grinning.

“O-oh!” Chrysalis replied, jostled slightly as the changelings beneath her adjusted position.

“I told them to do it,” Avery called up to them.

“Wait a minute… that was a line from your book!” Jeremy accused, laughing.

Avery laughed with him. “I regret nothing!” he retorted.

“Oh… I thought…” Chrysalis trailed off.

Thought what? Jeremy asked her.

I thought they were going to toss me off the mountain for being 'weak,' Chrysalis admitted glumly.

The changelings carrying her immediately gave her sympathetic glances, their positions shifting to a sort of mobile five-changeling hug as they reassured her via their shared hive mind. After a moment of deliberation, Chrysalis smiled back, relaxing slightly.

They set the pair of them down just outside the cave, where Jeremy and Chrysalis looked up at the starry night sky. “Wow. We were in there a while, huh?” Jeremy noted. “Chrysalis?” he asked, looking over.

To his surprise, Chrysalis was hugging the changelings who had been carrying her, who were evidently also shocked by her demeanor. “Sorry, I just… had to,” she explained to him as she finally let go.

“What happened to being the villainous, cunning changeling queen?” Rainbow teased.

Chrysalis chuckled. “She’s gone… good riddance. Being nice feels so much better.”

Fluttershy giggled quietly. “Doesn’t it?” she agreed.

They returned to the Secret Hallway, where Jeremy was surprised to find Nightmare Moon and Sombra still absent. “Are they alright?” he worried, looking around for them.

“They’re fine, sweetie. Still planning out that ‘surprise,’” Chrysalis hinted.

“…Oh,” Jeremy answered, ceasing his search as he remembered this. “Right. Um… Well, in that case… snuggles?” he asked, opening his door to invite her in.

“Snuggles,” Chrysalis agreed, laughing and brushing his legs with her tail as she walked by him.

Jeremy brushed his teeth, and they cuddled up in bed together, smiling and giggling as they drifted off to sleep again, both wondering what the morning would bring.

Once again, he awoke in the field of flowers. The green flower was in front of him, petals already as open as they could get, and he obediently started rubbing it again, relaxing as the familiar, comforting sensation passed over him. Ordinarily, he’d be suspicious of this turn of events, but it was just a dream, right? Nothing could hurt him here.

As he was rubbing the flower, passing his thumb and index finger along individual petals to feel their texture, he noticed something that hadn’t been there last time. A flower had been placed just below the larger green flower, looking as though it had been carefully uprooted and replanted here. This flower was much smaller than the rest, but its petals and seed area were massive compared to the stem and length, far larger than what Jeremy thought the stem would be able to support. The petals themselves were a brilliant pink hue, shifting to a crimson-red near the tips. It looked... intense. Not angry, not happy, but just... really vibrant and alive. Curious, Jeremy used his other hand to reach out and touch this flower, wondering how it would respond.

Instantly, he was somewhere else – amidst his fight with Tirek, on a disc of enchanted stone surrounded by lava back in Tartarus. The other him dodged and weaved, ducking and rolling even as he kept up the dance. A memory, maybe? But then how was he watching from a third-person view? Strange. He wasn't hot, either - this part of Tartarus, being just above a lake of lava, was boiling normally. He watched himself get more and more tired, panting with exhaustion as he fought to keep up with Tirek’s blasts of energy. Eventually, however, he would fail, Jeremy remembered that much - this wasn't matching up with his memories of the 'successful' attempt. A stray blast clipped the other him on the shoulder, spinning him around even as another blast punched him in the back. The other him fell to the floor, slumping over and ceasing all movement as Tirek laughed in triumph. Jeremy watched, heart in his throat. Would things go on? Had an alternate timeline just been birthed?

But to his surprise, everything had stopped, not just his fallen body. Time itself had slowed to a halt, drips of lava spilling off the disc frozen in place. Glancing over at his own dead body again, Jeremy was surprised to see a white light emitting from his newly exposed and severely burnt torso. Curious, he ‘walked’ over to look at it, the platform below him feeling distinctly unlike stone and more like... nothing. The light was emitting from where his heart was, and was getting brighter. The light grew and grew, enveloping his body and all that surrounded it…

Jeremy woke up with a gasp, drenched in cold sweat. He looked around wildly, half expecting Tirek to be there for some reason. It was still the dead of night, and Chrysalis was fast asleep beside him, frowning slightly. He gasped and breathed heavily, trying to calm himself from the nightmare and wondering why it had occurred. He hadn’t had a nightmare for several years now, and he almost never had one as serious as that. Why, then, had he suddenly had one about that specific fight? It hadn’t even been the scariest one, not by a long shot.

He looked over at Chrysalis, the sight of her asleep managing to calm him somewhat. The nightmare didn’t really matter, now that he was awake. He was out of Tartarus, and nobody wanted to attack his friends or him – what was the point in worrying, then? Reluctantly, he fell back to the bed, leaning an arm around Chrysalis as he drifted off again.

But this time, he didn’t dream. It was as if he had closed his eyes one moment, and opened them again the next, and suddenly hours had passed. To his shock, Nightmare Moon, Chrysalis and Sombra were looking down at him, matching grins on their faces as they waited for him to wake up.

“Thou always wert adorable when asleep,” Nightmare Moon teased.

“What am I, your foal?” Jeremy retorted, echoing something Sombra had said while the four of them had been escaping Tartarus.

Nightmare Moon laughed appreciatively. “Thou art certainly young enough, compared to us. But enough banter! Dost thee know what this day is?" she asked expectantly.

"Uh... Saturday?" Jeremy guessed. Sombra chuckled, slapping a hoof to his forehead.

"No, idiot. What day it is," he stressed.

"Uhhh...." Jeremy trailed off, eyes roaming the wall for a calendar he knew wasn't there.

Chrysalis sighed, rolling her eyes even as she grinned. "It's your birthday, dear. Happy birthday!" she revealed, hugging him and planting a kiss on his cheek.

"Oh... really? Huh. That came quick," Jeremy noted, nuzzling her back.

"T'would seem that time passeth more quickly when thou art enjoying thyself, no? But anon, we hath a surprise for thee!” Nightmare Moon announced, practically hopping in place with glee.

“Oh? A surprise? I’d better get up, then,” Jeremy replied amicably, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed and standing up eagerly. “Do I have to get dressed for this?” he asked.

“No, not really,” Chrysalis answered, smiling at him as she hopped down from the bedspread.

“Close your eyes,” Sombra instructed, grinning deviously.

Jeremy obediently closed them, trying not to laugh as he wondered what his surprise would be. He felt Chrysalis’ magic looping something around his neck – his Elemental necklace, he realized. Why did he need that? Suddenly, he felt the gentle tug of Nightmare Moon’s wing wrapping around his arm, pulling him forward. Squeezing his eyes shut, he walked onward, trusting them to not let him fall as they walked him to wherever they were going.

They walked for what seemed like quite a while, and Jeremy was fairly certain they were outside at a few points. Finally, they stopped.

“We weren’t sure what to get you, so we asked some of your friends,” Sombra began. “This is what they recommended. Go on, open your eyes!” Jeremy did so, and got his first look at his surprise.

It was a suit of armor, a mashup between a gallant knight’s armor from ages past and a more futuristic version from modern times. The thing it most reminded Jeremy of was one of the suits from Half-Life, or perhaps Iron Man’s suit. The whole thing was ebony black, with dark purple trim around the edges, and purple light glowed from beneath the armor plating. The torso itself was a heart-shaped plate, which extended downward to the waist. Jeremy noticed that the same three strips that lined Chrysalis’ belly encircled the suit’s belly as well, though these were purple to fit with the rest of the color scheme. The arms had large pauldrons on the shoulders, and little half-heart indents cut out of the forearm pieces, exposing the ribbed, dark purple armor underneath. One of the arms appeared to have a flashlight attached to it, jutting out from the wrist. The legs were thickly plated but flexible, with additional holes cut into the surface armor to imitate the holes in Chrysalis’ legs. Jeremy stepped forward to examine it, speechless, and noticed a heart-shaped indent in the center of the torso, clearly meant to house his Element of Love. Lines curved away from the indent, mimicking the lines on his magical shield perfectly. He took his Element necklace off, gently pressing it into the section, and it sank into the torso, a transparent window sliding down over it as the torso section popped open with a thunk, the front rising upward to allow him to put it on.

“This is… this is amazing… Sam told you to build all this?” Jeremy questioned breathlessly.

Nightmare Moon blushed. “Verily, he didst. We took the ideas from his dreams, with his permission, and Sombra replicated the parts. Chrysalis assisted with the look of the overall design – dost thou like it?” she asked.

Jeremy turned around and pulled the three of them into a bear hug, grinning like a lunatic. “This is the greatest gift I have ever received!” he praised.

“You haven’t seen the half of it yet,” Sombra teased.

“Put it on!” Chrysalis encouraged.

Jeremy hugged them for a moment longer, then returned his attention to the suit. Because the torso was open, he was able to simply step into it, his pajamas fitting neatly into the legs. As he pushed his arms through the suit’s arms, the torso lowered once more, clicking back into place and completing the look. Jeremy examined the gloves of the suit, noting that the thing felt extremely light despite apparently being made of metal.

“This is. So. Cool,” he gushed.

“So cool you could just fly, am I right?” Sombra snarked.

Jeremy laughed agreeably. “Hah, yeah, why not!” To his shock, he immediately began to lift off of the ground, his boots emitting some form of thrust. “Whoa!” he called out, adrenaline shooting through him as he realized he was airborne. “This – this thing flies!?” he exclaimed incredulously.

“You said you wanted to fly, back when we were at the Hive. So… now you can!” Chrysalis answered, watching his childish enthusiasm with a smile on her face.

“How do I work this thing?” Jeremy asked, trying to move around in the air and only succeeding in windmilling his legs. “It's a flight spell, it works based on your thoughts,” Sombra instructed. “Think of moving up.”

Jeremy obeyed, and immediately he rose higher into the air, the suit lifting him as easily as he would lift a feather. “W-whoa!” he exclaimed, fighting to keep himself from flipping over.

“Do not fight it!” Nightmare Moon called up to him. “Move with it!”

Jeremy concentrated, trying to follow her advice, but only succeeded in flipping over and crashing to the ground, sitting up dazedly as Sombra tried very hard to contain his laughter.

Nightmare Moon sighed. “Thou shalt master it eventually. Still, we hath presented thee a good gift, yes?”

Jeremy beamed and nodded. “The best gift. Really, what made you go to all this trouble? This suit has so much thought and effort put into it!”

Sombra laughed, and Jeremy recalled that this was possibly the first time he’d ever heard Sombra laugh so happily. “Because you freed us! You got us out of Tartarus, and everyone to like us! We owe everything to you!”

Nightmare Moon nodded in agreement. “Were we to spend the rest of our lives honoring thee, twould’ still not be enough to express our gratitude.”

Jeremy wiped a tear away from his watering eyes. “Aw, girls,” he answered, deeply touched.

“And guy!” Sombra chimed in indignantly, and Jeremy laughed and gently punched him on the withers.

“And guy,” he agreed, standing up and stretching. The suit felt less like a bulky, clunky set of armor and more like an extension of his own skin, flexing in all the right parts and remaining rigid in all the others.

They returned to the throne room, where Celestia did a double-take at Jeremy’s new armor. “That… what is that?” she asked curiously.

“My friends made me a suit of armor as a birthday gift. As you can see, it is, in fact, the best suit of armor,” Jeremy explained, he and his friends exchanging knowing grins.

Celestia smiled. “Happy birthday! It certainly suits you very well, at any rate. You should show Luna, she’s quite the armor enthusiast,” the solar alicorn remarked.

Jeremy raised an eyebrow at Nightmare Moon, who blushed and looked away. “Quite the armor enthusiast, huh?” Jeremy echoed teasingly, glancing at her.

“We… collected suits of armor back before… well, before the split,” Nightmare Moon explained uncomfortably.

“Oh,” Jeremy answered, his teasing mood vanishing.

“Tis’ alright. Anon, we must away to the next part to thy celebrations!” Nightmare Moon enthused.

As Jeremy obediently allowed himself to be led away, Celestia stopped him. “Talk with me later?” she whispered.

“Oh… sure,” Jeremy agreed, confused and slightly worried. What did she wish to talk about?

He found that they had arrived in what appeared to be a dining hall, where a familiar pink pony was setting up streamers. “Happy two-week escaping-Tartarus Anniversary and also HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” she shouted as soon as she caught sight of him.

Jeremy laughed appreciatively. “You just threw a party for me yesterday. Aren’t you worried about exhausting your party supplies?”

Pinkie leveled her gaze at him, unusually serious. “Me? Running out of party supplies? Good luck, pal.” She laughed, instantly returning to her usual bouncy demeanor as she pronked her way over to a nearby table to adjust the positions of the plates and napkins.

“So, a party, too?” Jeremy asked, looking over at the other three as he sauntered over to pick up a cupcake.

“Aye! Tis’ no better form of celebration, no?” Nightmare Moon replied, smiling at him.

“Besides, it’s just us four today. You mentioned wanting to spend more time with us, so… wish granted!” Sombra added.

Jeremy smiled. “Now that we’re in Canterlot, it’ll be a lot less boring board games, too. Is there anything you three would like to do?” To his surprise, the three of them sternly shook their heads.

“Today is about you,” Chrysalis flatly denied.

“We are here to do what you would like to do, and nothing else,” Sombra agreed.

Jeremy, taken aback, took a moment to think. “Oh. Well… uh… hmm. All the things I like doing are back on Earth…” he muttered, lost in thought.

“...They have 'water-slides' here, too,” Chrysalis mentioned, picking up on his thoughts.

“They do?” Jeremy asked, instantly brightening.

Chrysalis laughed. “Of course! We’re sitting on a mountain. There’s one that goes all the way down!”

Jeremy’s expression spoke of at least twelve Christmases. “Chrysalis. I have a mighty need,” he began, and Sombra burst out laughing, quickly followed by the other two.

“What is a ‘water-slide’?” Nightmare Moon asked curiously, and Sombra nodded.

“You’re going to love it,” Jeremy gushed. “It’s literally a slide made with running water… Oh, it’d be better just to show you! Where is the slide?” he asked, getting up.

“Edge of the mountain, dear. If you’re eager to go now…” Chrysalis began, looking uncertainly at his mostly uneaten pastries.

“Oh… I’d better stay a bit longer. Wouldn’t want Pinkie to think she set this all up for nothing, after all,” Jeremy laughed, sitting back down.

Nightmare Moon and Sombra grabbed some food as well, while Chrysalis took one look and abstained. “I had too much ‘sugar’ last night… my teeth still tingle,” she complained, opting for a glass of water instead.

Jeremy chuckled agreeably. “Probably best to ease you into eating physical food, yeah,” he agreed.

They enjoyed their food in silence for a moment. “I wish Tirek was here,” Jeremy sighed after a moment.

“Verily, it doth feel lacking without him,” Nightmare Moon somberly agreed.

“I keep turning around and expecting his huge, bulky body to be there, blocking the door. You know?” Sombra quipped, and Jeremy snorted.

“I wonder how he’s doing…” he trailed off.

“He’ll be fine, honey,” Chrysalis insisted. “You can’t protect us at all times.”

Jeremy sighed again, sipping a glass of milk and grabbing yet another frosted cookie. “You’re right…” he agreed after a moment.

Jeremy rushed up to his room in the Secret Hallway to grab his bathing suit from his suitcase, disrobing from his suit of armor in the process. A moment later, the four of them were heading out into the Canterlot morning, ponies giving them strange looks but ultimately ignoring them as Jeremy eagerly followed Chrysalis, carrying a backpack that had also been included in his suitcase and filled with his change of clothing.

“Verily, I hath never seen thee so enthused,” Nightmare Moon commented.

“Agreed… I’ve actually never seen you being excited before. I must say, it’s funny to watch,” Chrysalis pondered.

“They were my favorite thing, back on Earth. Every time I so much as saw a good waterslide, I begged and pleaded my family to let me go there. They always did, and it was always worth it,” Jeremy reminisced.

“Sounds like the perfect thing for today, then,” Chrysalis agreed, smiling at him.

Jeremy chuckled slightly. “Yeah… you guys didn’t have to do this for me, you know. I’d be fine either way,” he tried.

“Nonsense!” Nightmare Moon denied.

“We’re treating you. Accept it,” Sombra growled, though his grin gave him away.

“You’re our best friend, how could we not do this for you?” Chrysalis laughed.

Music began playing out of nowhere, and Jeremy looked around in consternation as Nightmare Moon began singing.

Our brightest star,
Our shining light,
You came to us that fateful night

You spared us all
Made us friends
Even though we tried to fight you

Now that you’ve brought us here,
And helped us start anew
We will never give up again
And maybe someday
We could learn to love like you?

Chrysalis took over, a spotlight appearing from precisely nowhere as she gazed at him lovingly.

You taught us all to be kind
To every living thing
To cherish all that we have
We know you’ll save everything!

Even a monster like me,
Through all my hate and despair,
A broken shell of a Queen,
You still taught me how to care!

The spotlight shifted over to Sombra, whose surprisingly smooth voice took over.

I spent my whole life
Consumed by my hate
Now that I have seen light
I cannot turn away

Even when we were bad
You never grudged anything
You have taught me
What it means to be King!

The spotlight moved over to Jeremy, and before he knew it, he was singing too, the words and tones flowing as effortlessly as if he'd spent days memorizing them.

If I must lead
And protect my friends
Then I shall stay
Until the very end

Seeing you in need
I could not turn back
I wished to be freed
But I refused to attack

My desire to ensure I survived
Was eclipsed
By your plea for life!
And now that we are free
I hope our friendship will eternal be

The three of them encircled him, singing in chorus as thematically colored spotlights shone down on them from an unseen source.

Come, our friend,
Stay a while,
We’ll cherish your company
And make you smile!

Even if you haven’t been here long,
We know with us is where you belong!
And in our embrace you shall be
Safe with your new family!

The music trailed off and the background brightened to normal daytime again as they enveloped him in a hug, the four of them laughing and beaming as ponies around them grinned at the spectacle.

“So… that just… happened. Where’d that spotlight come from, anyway?” Jeremy asked Chrysalis.

She shrugged. “That just happens sometimes. I have no idea what it’s called, but if ponies start singing, it happens.”

Nightmare Moon cleared her throat. “Tis’ called Heartsong, and it can only be used when the singer truly means what they say – when they ‘sing from the heart,’ so to speak,” she explained.

“So… we can start spontaneous musical numbers,” Jeremy clarified.

Sombra snorted. “Is this new to you? Like magic was? Your world sounds boring,” Sombra scoffed.

“It really is,” Jeremy agreed, looking down in dismay.

Sombra looked guilty. “I… sorry. Er… maybe you can make your world less boring now?” he tried.

Jeremy gave him a small smile. “Worth a shot. It’d be worth it to see our world leaders breaking out into harmony,” he joked.

A moment later, they arrived at the entrance to the theme park. To his surprise, Jeremy found that he was not in fact facing a waterslide, but was instead facing the entrance to a dimly lit cave. Disregarding this for the moment, he bounded forward, only to fall back as he spotted ponies in front of them paying for their entrance.

“Did we remember to bring the money?” he asked Chrysalis.

She smirked, and lit her horn. The bag of money he had been given by a changeling some time ago popped into existence in front of him. “Of course we did, honey,” Chrysalis finished, and Jeremy laughed appreciatively.

He approached the ticket counter apprehensively. “Four all-day passes?” he asked as soon as he moved to the front of the line.

“That’ll be four hundred and twenty… bits…” the ticket counter pony trailed off, taking in the sight of Sombra, Chrysalis, and Nightmare Moon behind him.

Jeremy smirked, and raised an eyebrow at him. “H-here you go!” the stallion nervously stammered, hoofing out four tickets quickly and giving him an anxious smile. Jeremy passed the tickets back to his friends, and they sauntered through the gate, looking around curiously at the theme park entrance.

To their surprise, the waterslide was not the first thing they encountered. Instead, they were led down a tunnel into the mountain with a group of others by a mare dressed in a form-fitting wetsuit.

“These caves were largely unoccupied until the first changeling invasion,” the tour guide explained as she led them into the depths, apparently not even noticing the four of them. “It was discovered that an ancient mining operation had been conducted here, the tracks and cart still magically preserved against the wear of time. During Princess Twilight’s escape from Queen Chrysalis’ invasion, she and the true Princess Cadance used this rail system to escape the caves, emerging on the side of Canterlot’s mountain before returning to the throne room to confront Queen Chrysalis. So, to add to your adventure today, we’re going to recreate the experience!”

Jeremy was already trying very hard to keep from laughing as he beheld a series of minecarts and a track in front of them, looking just as they had in the show.

You’ve got to be joking, Chrysalis grumbled. Jeremy was too busy uproariously laughing in his head to answer.

“No more than four ponies to a cart!” the mare called out as the attendees began to climb into the minecarts. Chrysalis sighed, and flew into a minecart with a buzz of her wings, causing the tour guide to finally notice her.

“Oh,” was all she said, and Jeremy couldn’t hold it in any longer, bursting into laughter as he hopped over the side of the cart.

“Nice to meet you too,” he replied, and the tour guide hastily smiled.

Nightmare Moon touched down inside the cart with a dainty flap of her wings, scoffing as she beheld the wooden contraption. “Tis’ of shoddy make. We doubt it shall last the ride,” she declared haughtily, drawing her wings and hooves around Jeremy’s backpack to give them some more space.

Sombra had turned into his smoky form rather than attempting to climb, reforming inside the cart as he sat across from Jeremy. “Not going to lie… Nightmare Moon has a point,” he grumbled, poking at some of the rivets on the floor.

“Ready? Here we go!” the tour guide announced, causing all of them to look up as the minecart began to move of its own accord.

It was slow at first, but the cart rapidly picked up speed, moving around and down the mineshaft. Jeremy watched in fascination as stalactites sped by them, resisting the centrifugal force from the spiraling track as they descended further.

“Okay, this is pretty cool,” he admitted.

“Did they really have to turn this into an amusement ride?” Chrysalis complained.

Jeremy snorted with amusement at her unamused expression. “It doesn’t seem to be going nearly as fast as the one in the show did, so it’s probably a safer version of that particular journey. Even so, it does seem kind of cheap,” he agreed.

“Wait, what art thee talking about?” Nightmare Moon asked, and Jeremy quickly explained.

Nightmare Moon shrugged. “If we art being honest, we art not terribly surprised. Tales of valor and heroism have long been watered down into foals’ stories and books, and this doth seem to be a naturale extension of that principle.” Jeremy considered this thoughtfully.

“Besides, you already had your entire story dumbed down for the masses, Jeremy told us that,” Sombra added to Chrysalis.

“True,” Chrysalis muttered. “But hearing about it and experiencing it are… quite different.”

Jeremy chuckled. “Imagine how I feel, experiencing stuff like this. It's like I'm in a story... inside another story,” he joked, and the four of them chuckled.

As they sped along, it occurred to Jeremy that there had been a point in this particular part of the show where the minecart’s track had led off a cliff into a deeper mineshaft, forcing Twilight and Cadance to jump off and fly to the other side. He poked his head out of the minecart, and true enough, the cart was heading straight for an open pit.

“So, um… I don’t mean to alarm everyone, but…” Jeremy began.

“What?” Chrysalis asked, popping up beside him.

“That,” Jeremy pointed out.

“Oh, that’s fine. See? The other ponies are being levitated out of their carts across it,” Chrysalis noticed.

Jeremy looked over, and he could indeed see a line of ponies being lifted across the gap by a tired-looking unicorn. “Oh, okay,” Jeremy accepted, sitting back down nervously as the pit loomed closer and closer. They shot over the edge, and weightlessness took over as Jeremy let go of the cart so he could be better lifted.

It was at this point that he recalled that he was, in fact, immune to magic.

The cart dropped like a stone, Jeremy carried along with it as Nightmare Moon, Chrysalis, and Sombra disappeared into the distance, held in the secure grip of magic even as they struggled. Jeremy screamed as he fell, grabbing back onto the minecart as he caught up to it and climbing inside for some protection from the fall. Below him, he could see the place where the minecarts were supposed to land, only to find that they were winking out of existence just before they hit the ground, presumably teleported out of the way of certain destruction. Jeremy closed his eyes, wondering briefly when the last time he SAVED was.

There was a great, echoing CRASH, and all was silent.

He awoke, what seemed like hours later, to find himself in complete and utter blackness. He was still in his bathing suit, feeling thoroughly filthy and covered in bits of broken rock and damp gravel. He looked around, groaning in pain. Below him was a thick mass of softly glowing, green, carpet-like substance – lichen. By some miracle, he’d managed to land on a soft bed of luminescent green lichen.

“Agh… shit…” he swore, wiping some blood away from his scratched-up torso. His crown was back in his room, but Chrysalis had said that he should still be able to talk to the hivemind without it. Chrysalis, I’m still here, he sent out.

...Nothing. It appeared either Chrysalis was asleep, an unlikely scenario, or that something was somehow blocking their telepathy, an even more unlikely scenario. Jeremy sighed, tiredly pulling out his menu and SAVING the game.

A plot device that prevents me from contacting help. Of course, he mentally complained, unsteadily rising to his feet. He ripped off a piece of the luminescent moss, wrapping it around his arm as a makeshift flashlight, and looked around. The cave appeared to go deeper from here, but he wasn’t sure if he really wanted to venture forth – he remembered all too well the last time he’d wandered into an unknown cave with no supplies and no way of calling for help.

He returned to the entrance hole above, looking up at the rest of the caves. They seemed so distant… there was no way he could climb that, even if he'd had decades of rock-climbing experience. Pity. He returned his attention to the forebodingly dark tunnel ahead – the only way forward. Jeremy sighed again, and began to walk. What the hell was he getting himself into this time?

The tunnel sloped every which way, narrowing at some parts and widening at others. Jeremy did his best to alternately crawl and walk through each part, shuddering each time a drop of water hit him or his foot touched anything other than cold, hard rock. On one such occasion, Jeremy stumbled back as his toe hit something with a resounding cling instead of the usual rocky thump. Curious, he aimed his lichen-wrapped arm at it.

It was a tarnished Royal Guard breastplate, of the Sun variety, half buried in the mud and gravel of the tunnel. Jeremy picked it up curiously, wiping some of the gravel and mud off of it curiously. What was it doing here? It was the same design the modern Guards used, so he didn’t think it had been placed here all that long ago. But what Guard would so callously throw away a piece of their most treasured armor? Stumped, Jeremy tossed it back onto the ground, where it bounced with a clang. “Weird…” he mumbled under his breath.

Looking around, he spotted more armor lying unused and unwanted about the tunnel. Now, he was more worried than curious. Someone had evidently disposed of their armor without letting anyone know of it – what if there was some kind of traitor in Celestia’s Guard? He'd better tell Celestia about this when he next saw her.

He could see light up ahead, and crawled faster now, arms scraping and elbows scuffing as he fought to return to civilization. To his surprise, he came out onto another ledge, viewing yet another seemingly bottomless pit.

“So… now what? Do we just wait for him?” Sombra asked, sounding nervous.

“T’would appear so,” Nightmare Moon agreed glumly, somewhere above and behind him. Jeremy twisted around, and in the split second before his view shifted from the tunnel he’d crawled through to the main cave where his friends were, he caught something bright white looking back at him. He had no time to think about it, however, because as soon as Chrysalis spotted him her expression lit up.

“There you are!” she cheered, buzzing over and lifting him onto the ledge overlooking the pit, where he promptly collapsed in exhaustion.

“Art thou alright? That must have been quite a fall,” Nightmare Moon worried.

“I’m fine,” Jeremy panted, only just realizing how tiring the trek had been given his current condition.

“What’s that around your arm?” Sombra asked, poking at it.

“Some kind of luminescent lichen,” Jeremy answered. “I landed on it, by some insane luck, and it made a useful light.” Sombra pulled him to his feet, where he beheld the tour guide, cringing and looking very sorry.

“We didn’t know you’re immune to magic… please don’t eat me,” she whimpered.

Jeremy raised his eyebrow, once again trying to contain his mirth. “Eat you? Don’t be ridiculous. There was no way you could have known, I’m not mad at you,” he soothed.

The tour guide relaxed slightly. “And you promise you won’t report this to my boss?” she pleaded.

“Wouldn’t dream of it. Not your fault the weird alien doesn't play by the rules,” Jeremy agreed. He paused, putting a hand to his scuffed chin in thought. “Though, I should probably warn the other humans. No sense repeating that, after all,” he added. Lichen or no, I’m not sure any other human could have pulled that one off. They’d probably die, and then… well, then I’d have a whole new mess on my hands, he mused.

Your voice is back! Chrysalis noticed, looking at him.

Yeah, it got blocked for some reason back there. Any idea why? Jeremy asked, as the four of them returned to the group at large, who were looking very impatient at the delay but softened their expressions upon seeing Jeremy’s damaged state.

No… nothing should be able to interrupt the connection like that. It falls off with distance, but… Chrysalis trailed off.

Right. How strange… Jeremy remarked. He also wanted to tell her about the armor he had found, but he decided to save that for later.

They beheld the entrance to the first waterslide, a massive, churning current of water that came from a single copper pipe to their left. The small river headed to their right, dropping sharply as soon as it exited the cave into the sunlight. Jeremy could see a slide constructed mainly of metal heading down the mountain, and those groups that had preceded them were just barely visible, sliding down to what appeared to be an incredibly large pool below. The group they had accompanied were already entering their tubes, apparently content to leave the four of them behind.

“So, ponies are carried by a quickly moving stream of water down a slide… hence, a ‘water-slide.’ I see,” Nightmare Moon noticed, watching the ponies who were already halfway down the mountain.

“Wow, this just goes on, and on... and on,” Jeremy remarked, watching with her. The sheer height of the slide was enough to give him vertigo, and he quickly returned his gaze to the closer ground of the slide park.

"Hey, before we go. I'd better heal you up. Of all the days this had to happen..." Chrysalis trailed off sadly.

"You sure? You mentioned that it took a lot out of you to produce that healing goop," Jeremy replied with a worried look.

Chrysalis rolled her eyes. "That was before I absorbed enough love from you to power Canterlot for a century. Don't worry about it, really. Now lay down," she instructed, and Jeremy obediently laid down.

Chrysalis licked his scraped forearms and torso, the green, viscous substance coating his skin immediately solidifying into a resin-like cast. Watching, Jeremy was once again reminded of the many times she'd had to do so down in Tartarus after he'd gotten injured. "How's that?" she asked, once she'd covered every area she could find.

"Much better," Jeremy sighed.

“Good! Now let’s go have some fun,” Chrysalis enthused.

“Don’t have to tell me twice,” Jeremy replied, grinning as he got up.

They eventually ended up choosing a four-pony tube for their first run, a massive circular thing where they strapped themselves into the sides instead of sitting on top.

“Keep your hooves, wings, magic, and… arms inside the tube at all times,” the instructor informed them, sounding as though he’d rehearsed the first part of that conversation a hundred times as he placed their belongings in the center of the tube.

Jeremy was giddy with anticipation as they were pushed closer and closer to the entrance, and the other three watched him with knowing smiles on their faces.

They finally tipped over the edge of the slide, and the instructor gave their tube one last, hard push before gravity took over. They hurtled downward, Jeremy whooping and Sombra screaming as their tube accelerated downwards seemingly faster than possible.

“Are you sure this is ‘fun’?!” Sombra shouted over the wind as he finally got ahold of himself.

“Yeah!” Jeremy shouted back, beaming. “Just enjoy the adrenaline rush!”

As they rushed onward and downward, the churning of water and whipping of the wind all around them, Jeremy noticed they were heading towards the end of the track, with nothing below to catch their fall. Water poured out from under it, spilling out into the open air and beyond his line of sight. This setup seems strangely familiar, he mused sarcastically.

“What is that?” he asked, pointing, and the other three looked.

“Hold on tight!” Chrysalis ordered, eyes now squeezed shut. Jeremy obeyed, gripping the rubber edge of the tube so tightly his knuckles turned white, and they sailed off into open air, a feeling of weightlessness overtaking him as he fought the urge to jump for the safety of the mountain. Sombra and Chrysalis were screaming now, almost inaudible over the wind as they sailed downward, falling towards what appeared to be a gigantic pit in the middle of a ledge on the mountain.

“We’re gonna diiieee!” Sombra howled as the pit swallowed them up, and everything went black.

Jeremy was still conscious, and still aware that they were hurtling downward through the blackness, the others having abruptly stopped screaming now that the wind was absent. As they fell downward, a familiar lichen on the cave walls began to illuminate their surroundings, glowing green and bright enough to hurt their eyes after the darkness above. The water from the slide they had fallen off of streamed down beside them, a literal waterfall that surged down its own pre-carved path and falling ever so slightly slower than they were, and Jeremy took a moment to wash off some of the more bloody parts of his bruised skin as they fell. As they fell through the strange, vertical cave, Jeremy reflected how he’d never enjoyed such extreme rollercoasters before. And yet, here he was, enjoying himself under conditions that no sane Safety Board back on Earth would ever agree to. How odd.

They fell for what seemed like hours, though it could have only been a few seconds. As the four of them fell past a ledge with a maintenance access door, a worker watching them with an unreadable expression on their pearlescent white face, Jeremy did a double take. He could have sworn… but that wasn’t possible. He had no time to think about it, however, as they exited out the bottom of the vertical cave, and quickly landed on a nearly vertically-sloped section of the slide, the water from earlier following them down and reconnecting with the slide almost perfectly. The thump from reconnecting with the slide took the wind right out of Jeremy’s lungs, and as the slope rapidly lessened to nearly horizontal, water spraying out to either side as their tube rapidly decelerated to a speed that could best be called ‘average’ by Rainbow Dash. Before they could comment that the ride seemed to be over, however, the slope picked up again, and Jeremy caught a glimpse of a long, spiraling path around the mountain ahead of them. He grinned in anticipation, even as the other three glanced at it fearfully. Since when had he been such an adrenaline junkie?

To his half-disappointment, the rest of the slide was fairly ‘normal’ by Earth standards – spirals, sudden drops, dark tunnels that had been carved through the mountain, et cetera. They reached the bottom with a gigantic splash, and surfaced to behold a pool about the size of a football stadium, with ponies laughing and playing in the pool even as others headed for what appeared to be a miniature train back to the top. To Jeremy’s surprise, there were food stands and other entertainment in the pool, ponies sitting on underwater stools as bartenders and chefs served them themed food and drink. They appeared to have landed in a roped-off section of the pool, a pile of tubes next to the edge indicating that they were to disembark here.

“That was. So. Cool!” Jeremy squealed as soon as they reached the pool’s edge, hopping off the tube and into the water, bits of debris and gravel that had been clinging to his skin sinking to the bottom.

“Never again,” Sombra shivered, his own terrified expression a stark contrast to Jeremy’s enthusiasm.

“Oh come on, it wasn’t that bad. Tough it out, soldier!” Chrysalis teased him, and Nightmare Moon smirked.

“That was… more entertainment than we thought possible from such a simple concept,” she remarked, seemingly unfazed by their recent journey.

Chrysalis pulled out their bag of bits and Jeremy’s backpack, which he noted with some dismay was now soaking wet. Good thing I forgot my phone and wallet, he thought. Why did they put our stuff on the tube with us, anyway?

Chrysalis shrugged. Transporting it down a mountain for you to pick it up was too hard? Who knows, she answered, and Jeremy mentally shrugged.

They found that the gargantuan pool had been divided into five sections, with the area behind them comprising the first. One, the central area, was reserved for food, drink, and other entertainment, the water depth lower than any other section to allow patrons to walk through the water if they so chose. Given that ponies’ legs were so much shorter than humans’, this meant that the central area was roughly the depth of a kiddie pool to Jeremy. On their right, a section was dedicated to a single, giant hot spring, older ponies relaxing in the steamy water as the younger ones enjoyed themselves elsewhere. On their left, there appeared to be a section for more rides, complete with a lazy river, whirlpool, and water-themed playground as well as at least twenty additional waterslides by Jeremy’s count. Finally, in the far back, just barely visible, a section appeared to be a makeshift beach, complete with sand and waves. In this section, ponies could be seen suntanning, though Jeremy wasn’t sure how they were supposed to ‘tan’ without any fur.

“This… this should exist on Earth, but it doesn’t,” Jeremy remarked aloud.

“Didst thee not come here for the similarity?” Nightmare Moon replied, confused.

Jeremy laughed. “We have waterslides and waterparks back home, but they’re so much smaller than this. Something like this would easily be the best theme park on the entire planet, especially with the slide to get here!”

Nightmare Moon smiled at his enthusiasm. “We art glad thou enjoyeth it! Though, prithee, doth not partaking in victuals leadeth to cramps of a moste terrible nature?” she wondered, pointing out the food stands.

“That’s actually a myth,” Jeremy explained. “People spread that around because they thought your stomach would take away oxygen from the rest of your body to process the food, thus causing you to drown, but it turns out your lungs already provide more than enough for both digesting food and swimming. The cramps actually happen because people swim improperly or try to stretch their muscles too far without warming up first.” Nightmare Moon nodded in vague interest.

They swam over to the very edge of the pool, the others laughing as Jeremy gamboled through the water, acting more like an otter than a human even as he kept his backpack firmly above water level.

“What? It’s nice,” he defended.

“We’ve never seen you swim before… you’re actually pretty good,” Chrysalis complimented, and Jeremy snorted.

“Slowest member of the swim team, right here,” he mock-introduced, a hand to his chest. He put his still-soaked backpack in a pile with other backpacks, noticing with some dismay that there were no lockers to store things in. “Aren’t they worried about theft here?” he wondered.

Sombra looked at him strangely. “Who would steal a rucksack?” he replied incredulously.

Jeremy shrugged. “Some humans will steal anything that isn’t nailed down. Backpacks, electronics, luggage, clothing…”

Chrysalis snorted. “You’d think they’d at least steal something worth stealing.”

“To them, that stuff is worth stealing. Not all thieves are bank robbers or international jewelry thieves, after all,” Jeremy retorted.

That done, they made their way over to the beach section, at Sombra’s insistence. “I just need somewhere to rest… my legs…” he got out, before collapsing on one of the conveniently provided suntanning chairs.

“Will he be alright?” Jeremy worried, taking a seat beside him.

“Probably getting over the adrenaline of that ride, still,” Chrysalis noted. “Why don’t we take a break with him?”

Shrugging, Jeremy chose a nearby, unoccupied chair and laid down on it… or, at least, he attempted to. He quickly realized that these chairs were pony-sized, and not human-sized. A soft thump beside him caused him to look over, and he found that Nightmare Moon had summoned three towels to lay on the sand.

“Mayhap this shalt suffice for we of the taller persuasion,” she jested.

Jeremy snorted in amusement, and laid down on the towel, staring up at the sun. As he did so, he noticed he could stare directly at the sun, without burning his retinas. How odd. He studied it carefully, wondering if he could see coronas or sunspots without any kind of protection in this odd world.

He drifted off, lulled to sleep by the warm sand and the whispering waves. His dreams about flowers and timelines did not come, however, even though he was expecting them to. Instead, he remained somewhat lucid, half-awake and aware of everything that was happening. He felt it when Chrysalis decided to cuddle up to him instead of using her own towel, though he wasn’t quite awake enough to cuddle her back. He heard Sombra wake up, looking at them in bemusement before sighing and going back to sleep. He felt Nightmare Moon pressing gently, telling him to wake up.

“…Huh…?” Jeremy asked, rubbing the tired out of his eyes as he sat up. Chrysalis, on top of him, was still asleep, and evidently dreaming about something pleasant.

“Thy stomach was growling even in thy slumber,” Nightmare Moon explained with a smile. “Dost thou wish to partaketh in the food over yonder?”

Jeremy nodded sleepily, noting now that he was awake that he was, in fact, hungry. “Yeah… I probably should...” he agreed, gently rolling Chrysalis onto the towel before getting up.

He waded back over to the place where his backpack was at, noting with some satisfaction that it had dried out in the time he was asleep, and took out his bag of bits. That done, he wandered back to the central food area, where he looked around. So many good-looking foods… how was he supposed to choose?

Jeremy returned later with a heaping pile of various tropical and beach-themed foods and drinks, and Nightmare Moon looked at him skeptically. “Thou art that ravenous?” she questioned.

Jeremy chuckled, laying the tray of food down on his towel. Chrysalis had woken up by now, and was looking at him questioningly, and Sombra was giving him a knowing smirk. “Everything looked so good, and I couldn’t choose, and then I remembered that I’m rich now or something. So, I bought everything I thought would be good,” Jeremy explained.

“Can we have some?” Sombra asked, and Nightmare Moon glared at him.

Jeremy, to her surprise, laughed and nodded. “I can't eat all this by myself! Go on, take what you want,” he encouraged.

Chrysalis sighed. “Even on a day that’s supposed to be entirely about you indulging yourself, you still manage to do kind things for us,” she teased.

“What can I say? Making others happy is what makes me happy,” Jeremy retorted. Sombra chuckled even as his mouth was stuffed full of cooked fish. “Say, you ponies eat fish?” Jeremy asked, noticing this.

Sombra shrugged. “Yeph?” came his muffled response, before he swallowed mightily.

“T’was introduced to our culture by griffons. Fish art not a popular food staple, but in such places as this, they art used,” Nightmare Moon explained.

“Oh. So fish is some kind of novelty food for you, then. Weird…” Jeremy trailed off.

“How much fish do you normally eat?” Chrysalis asked.

Jeremy snorted. “I lived in a port town called 'Seattle' growing up, so more than the rest of my country, but less than some other parts of the world. Personally, I find fish pretty bland unless it’s breaded or marinated,” he mused.

“This stuff’s breaded,” Sombra pointed out, forking a piece onto his plate.

Jeremy popped it into his mouth, smiling. “And thus, I find it delicious,” he completed, causing Sombra to snort with amusement.

“Can I try some?” Chrysalis asked curiously.

“Sure,” Sombra answered, forking another, smaller piece onto the plate nearest her.

Chrysalis, noticing this, frowned but said nothing. She took a gentle bite out of it, and nodded thoughtfully before eating the rest in a much larger bite. “Pretty good. The ‘meat’ part tastes exactly like apathy, but it’s balanced out by the ‘bread’ part?” she mused aloud.

“I’ve often wondered about how different emotions taste compared to different flavors,” Jeremy added.

“Perhaps a taste test is necessary,” Nightmare Moon suggested, and Jeremy brightened.

“You’re right! I’ll have to write down which ones we’ve discovered so far.”

Chrysalis smiled. “I’m just still confused as to why that first piece of meat I tried was so horrible,” she wondered.

Jeremy shrugged. “Hard to say, unless you want to try another piece of beef and see if it tastes equally as bad.”

Just then, Sombra got his attention. “Is that… is that an octopus?” Sombra asked, pointing at something that looked more like curly fries than any fish.

“Yeah, it is. It’s called ‘calamari,’ if I remember right. It’s pretty good, actually!” Jeremy encouraged.

“But… octopi have tentacles. With hooks on them,” Sombra pointed out.

“Those are dissolved off by the preparation method, I think. Don’t worry, it’s fine,” Jeremy dismissed, popping one in his mouth to demonstrate.

Sombra hesitantly took one, staring at it apprehensively.

“It’s just like all the other breaded fish, Sombra. Except a bit more rubbery,” Jeremy mused.

Reluctantly, Sombra tried one, gingerly placing it in his mouth. He chewed thoughtfully. “Hmm. Well, my mouth isn’t being torn apart, so I suppose it’s alright,” the shadow king declared, putting ten more pieces of calamari on his plate.

Jeremy chuckled. “Glad to hear it.”

By the time they had completely finished the food, it was late in the afternoon, and Jeremy had resorted to laying back and staring directly at the sun, Chrysalis having cuddled up to his chest.

“So, t’was an enjoyable experience, yes?” Nightmare Moon asked hopefully.

Jeremy softly laughed. “Yeah. This day has been great. No politics, no saving the world… just a perfectly ordinary day with three of my best friends.”

Sombra frowned slightly, saying nothing. “Something wrong, Sombra?” Jeremy asked, noticing this.

“It’s… nothing,” Sombra denied quietly. “I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself.”

This, more than anything, alarmed Jeremy: Sombra wasn’t even making his usual snarky quips. Jeremy pondered what to say for a moment, then reluctantly gave it up, unable to think of anything.

After a while, Jeremy felt rested enough to try another ride. He glanced down at himself to check his bruises, which were already turning a few interesting hues but otherwise seemed to be okay.

“Anyone else want to try some of the rides?” he asked, jerking a thumb at the waterslides at the other side of the pool.

“I’m fine,” Sombra denied.

“Perhaps in a moment,” Nightmare Moon agreed, glancing nervously up at the slide they had arrived upon.

“I’ll come with,” Chrysalis declared, bouncing up to join him.

The first ride they chose was something called ‘The Haze’. It was a closed-tube waterslide that, according to the sign, promised 'twists and turns you’ll never see coming!'

Chrysalis snorted. “Oh really? We’ll see about that, I have night vision.”

Jeremy chuckled. “Don’t ruin it for yourself, hun. Come on, let’s give it a try before the line gets longer!”

A few minutes later, they hopped into the two-pony tube, Jeremy just barely fitting his comparatively gargantuan frame into the tiny rubber donut. Chrysalis, too, was struggling to fit her long, slender limbs inside.

“Here, let me help,” the staffpony overseeing the ride offered.

A few painfully stretched limbs later, Chrysalis was effectively sitting in Jeremy’s lap, her hind legs hanging over the front of the tube.

“Ready?” the staffpony asked, and they both nodded. “Alright, here we go!” she cheered, pushing them forward into the darkness.

Because it was pitch black, Jeremy felt rather than saw the ride. They jerked to the left, the sudden change in direction causing him to gasp, and the floor practically dropped out from under them as they began a rapid, spiral descent.

“Wooo!” Chrysalis cheered as the g-force forced them to lean to their right.

Jeremy laughed happily as they exited the spiral, continuing forward for a mere second before suddenly ascending again. Jeremy noted with interest that despite their going up the slope, they weren’t slowing down – magic at work in the water, he supposed.

As the slope continued to increase, Jeremy noted with some alarm that they were approaching a vertical ascent, and wondered if he might fall off. He gripped the tube tightly, oddly held in place by Chrysalis sitting in his lap. They were now beginning to be upside down, the water impossibly rushing across the ceiling of the waterslide as they performed a loop-de-loop.

“This is so cool!” Jeremy exclaimed as they were upside-down.

Chrysalis laughed with him, evidently pleased by his demeanor even if he couldn’t see her expression in the pitch blackness.

They exited the loop-de-loop only to find that the tube below them had apparently now decided to vanish from existence entirely, the feeling of weightlessness overtaking them as they began to plummet.

“What is with these waterslide designers and waterfalls?” Jeremy mock-complained as they fell.

“I think it’s rather fun!” Chrysalis replied.

They landed with an oof, still not slowing down in the slightest, and a light became visible at the end of the tunnel.

They tumbled out of the slide, the tube flipping over and submerging them as they somersaulted through the water. Jeremy came up laughing, Chrysalis spluttering to the surface a moment later.

“You alright?” Jeremy asked, noticing her retching and gulping in oxygen.

“Swallowed some pool water,” Chrysalis hacked out, looking slightly greener than normal.

Jeremy firmly but gently thumped her on the back, and she immediately started breathing normally, turning to him with a grateful smile. “So, what’s next?” Jeremy wondered, looking around.

“How about ‘The Drain’?” Chrysalis suggested, pointing at a massive, cone-shaped ride that had plenty of ponies waiting in line for it.

“Sure, why not?” Jeremy agreed, already walking over eagerly.

“So… why’s it called ‘The Drain’, anyway?” Jeremy wondered aloud as they waited in line a moment later, soaked ponies chattering around them.

“If I had to guess, it has something to do with that,” Chrysalis answered, pointing at the massive cone-shaped section of the ride.

“Hrmm…” Jeremy replied thoughtfully, staring at it.

They once again struggled their way into a tube, and the instructor stallion at this particular ride gave them a look. “First time on the ride?” he asked.

Jeremy nodded uncertainly.

“Hold onto your dinners, then!” the instructor announced gleefully as he pushed them forward.

Jeremy and Chrysalis only had time to exchange a look of confusion and dismay before they were carried forth into The Drain.

The beginning part of the Drain was actually pretty uneventful, at least compared to what Jeremy was now expecting of these waterslides. Just a few twists and turns, the occasional jerk sideways, nothing special. The most he could say was that this portion of the ride was open-air, so instead of darkness he could see everything ahead of them, feeling the cool breeze on his bare torso as he and Chrysalis rode along.

“Well, this is pleasant,” Chrysalis noted.

“So when’s it get unpleasant?” Jeremy wondered impatiently, an expectant grin on his face.

His question was quickly answered as they approached the massive cone, a single tunnel ahead indicating its entrance. “Oh, there’s the unpleasant part,” Chrysalis snarked in confirmation, and Jeremy laughed.

To his surprise, the area inside the cone was not strictly a spiraling tunnel, as he had expected. Instead, the adjacent tunnels of the spiral had been cut in half, effectively allowing them to view the entire spiral instead of just a part of it. They rode around like a whirlpool… or like a drain, Jeremy realized. Other riders were also visible, having apparently taken different entrances and thus being out of sync with their orbit around the gushing center. Speaking of the center, it appeared to simply be a hole in the cone that riders fell through, and it took Jeremy a nervous moment to remember that the Drain had clearly had a tube leading out of the bottom when he had been viewing it outside.

As they approached the center, Jeremy noticed one foal high above them who appeared to be having a little too much fun. “Look a’ me, big sis!” they squealed out, balancing on just one leg on top of their tube.

“Hey!” their sister, a purple pony with pink hair, called out worriedly. “Get back in your seat, you’ll drown if you fall off!”

The foal scoffed at this, tossing her powder-blue mane. “You worry too much! I’m fine!” These words, however, quickly proved untrue. A particularly violent jerk in their section of the ride caught the tiny filly off balance, and she yelped as she fell off the tube and onto the next section of the ride, where she was quickly caught by the fast-moving waters. “SIS!” she screamed fearfully as she was swept away, and Jeremy stood up himself, actually managing to stop their tube with his weight.

“Be right back,” he muttered to Chrysalis, who watched in confusion as he hopped out of their tube and up to the next level.

Thankfully, the sections of the cone were shallow compared to Jeremy’s long legs, so he could easily hop back up the spiral, racing to catch up to the spluttering and choking filly. “HELP!” she screamed, and other riders watched in shock as Jeremy hopped in front of or even over their tubes to reach his target.

Finally, he closed in on her, only to find she’d just submerged, having finally run out of energy to fight the current.

“No you don’t,” Jeremy growled, and his arms snapped into a well-practiced streamline as he dove after her. He took advantage of his own momentum to catch up to her, riding the currents as though he were more fish than human. Once she was within arm’s reach, he snatched her out of the current as quickly as he could, holding her above the water as she retched. With his increased speed, they quickly made it back to the bottom and out the exit, Jeremy serving as the filly’s ride as he swam as fast as he could to add to the already rapid speed of the waterslide.

They burst out into the pool at the bottom of the slide, where Jeremy immediately slapped the filly down onto solid pavement. “Come on kid, wake up,” he muttered, only to find with rising panic that she wasn’t breathing.

“My child!” he heard a voice screaming behind him, but he barely paid attention, instead concentrating on the filly’s tiny chest and using his fingers to feel for any rise and fall of her lungs. Finding none, he immediately placed his combined fists just below her lowest rib and pushed hard.

“One,” he muttered, and pushed again. “Two. Three…” He sensed Chrysalis’ apprehension, as she was evidently still nearby.

“What is he doing to my child?!” the voice demanded again, but Jeremy ignored this.

“Six… seven… eight…” he growled, pumping the child’s lungs as hard as he dared. Finally, the filly drew in a great, rattling gasp of air, and immediately cried out in pain.

“Ow! My tummy! Stop it!” she squealed, and Jeremy drew back, startled.

His expression cleared once he saw that she was alive, if irate, and he gave a guilty smile. “Hey, kid, if I had to choose between a few cracked ribs and drowning, I’d definitely choose the first one. For what it’s worth, sorry about your tummy.”

The filly looked around, her expression changing to that of confusion as she realized her surroundings were completely different. “I… drowned?” she asked worriedly.

Jeremy nodded. “You fell off your tube and into the water, so I came over to get you out. Then you stopped breathing, so I had to get that going again. You’re lucky your heart didn’t stop – you’d be in a lot worse shape if it had.” The filly began to tear up, and Jeremy hastily made to reassure her. “Hey, don’t be sad! You’re okay now, you’re gonna be fine. Just take it easy for a while, okay? Maybe have your sis carry you back or something,” he advised.

“Sis? SIS!” the tiny filly realized, looking around frantically.

“Right here!” her sister called back, pushing through a small crowd and galloping up to the pair of them. “Is she alright?” the purple, slightly older filly asked worriedly.

Jeremy gave a ‘so-so’ motion with his hand. “Bruised, might have a cracked rib or two, but she’s alive and should recover fine. You should get her to the hospital pretty soon, just to make sure she's okay.” The big sister had drawn closer, hooves outstretched to hug her younger sibling, but quickly reconsidered upon Jeremy’s words.

“Oh, jeez… let’s get you up… Mom and Dad are gonna kill us…” the big sister worried.

“She does look a little young to be on this ride,” Jeremy noted with a pointed look at the younger filly, who looked away in shame.

“She wanted to go on this one really badly… so I snuck her on. It’s my fault…” the older sister admitted.

Jeremy sighed. “Well, I think you’ve learned your lesson about that. Those age limits are for a reason, kids, it’s not just grownups being mean.” The two fillies nodded glumly.

“AURORA BLAZE AND ARCTIC WIND!” thundered an absolutely livid voice behind them, and the two fillies whirled around guiltily to find their mother standing there, looking angrier than Jeremy had ever seen anypony look. She was a gray-colored pegasus with a black mane, and eyes that looked strangely familiar to Jeremy. “Explain yourselves!” she demanded.

“It’s my fault, Mom! She… she wanted to go on the ride, and I couldn’t say no… so I snuck her on… don’t punish her, it’s my fault,” the older sister sniffled.

“No!” the younger sister objected weakly. “I wanted to go! It’s my fault!”

They quickly began bickering, and the mother stomped her hoof once, startling them into silence. “Enough!” she cried. “I… I’m not angry at you two. I just… You had me so worried,” their mother hoarsely whispered, before taking the two of them into a gentle hug and nuzzling their foreheads as Jeremy looked on in approval.

“We’re sorry, Mom,” they chorused, and the mare above them gave a tired smile.

“As long as you’re okay… it doesn’t matter,” she murmured. She straightened up a moment later, evidently realizing she was still in public, and noticed Jeremy, who had been standing off to the side. “You’re the King of Changelings I’ve heard so much about,” she remarked.

It wasn’t a question, but Jeremy nodded anyway. “King Jeremy, at your service,” he introduced.

“You saved my daughter’s life. If there is anything… anything I can do to repay you…” she asked.

Jeremy shrugged. “Can’t think of anything at the moment, and I’m not really one for holding a debt over someone’s head anyway. What’s your name?” he asked.

The mare smiled at him. “I’m Metal Wing, and these are my two daughters Aurora Blaze and Arctic Wind,” she introduced, pointing at the older and younger sister in turn.

“Nice to meet you three,” Jeremy returned amicably, smiling at the two younger fillies.

“What were you doing to my daughter, by the way? I understand it saved her life, but I’ve never quite seen it before,” Metal Wing wondered.

“It’s CPR. Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation,” Jeremy explained. “When someone’s stopped breathing or their heart has stopped beating, that’s what we humans do to try and revive them.”

Metal Wing nodded in interest, picking up Arctic Wing and depositing her on her back with her wings as she nudged Aurora Blaze along to start walking with them towards a nearby set of tables. “Well, as long as it works. I’ll take her to the hospital, and then keep her in bed for a few weeks, don’t worry,” she added.

“Sounds like a plan. Are you enjoying the park so far?” Jeremy asked.

Metal Wing laughed. “Of course! Our family comes here every year, and it’s gotten even better ever since they added that new entrance ride.”

Jeremy laughed uncomfortably as he recalled his disastrous mishap with the entrance ride. “Yeah, that one was… quite a wild time,” he agreed. “I think I’ll come here every year as well – this place is so cool.”

Metal Wing laughed appreciatively. “Good thing you saved my daughter – this park might have closed if it got a reputation for killing ponies on the rides.”

Jeremy chuckled. “Huh, looks like I’m selfish after all,” he joked back, and Metal Wing giggled.

“Oh, you! If I didn’t have my hooves full with these two, I’d be hugging you so hard your spine cracked. Who knows, with how crazy this day has gotten I might just start growing a few extra pairs of legs to do it with!” she laughed.

Jeremy laughed with her, but an uneasy feeling had begun growing in the pit of his stomach. “Say, uh… you’re not with the... Royal Guard, are you?” he asked nervously.

“I was. Retired last June, actually. Why?” she asked. Jeremy shrugged a little too hastily.

“I think I heard your name mentioned in passing, I was trying to place it,” he laughed.

“Ah, okay. Well, I’d better get back and tell my wife about all this - she's going to flip if I don't. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to come find us!” she offered.

“Thanks!” Jeremy called back, heading back towards the rides.

“So, how’d it go?” Chrysalis asked, having been waiting for him just outside the line for The Drain.

“Alright, I guess. The filly’s fine, though I might have been a little too enthusiastic getting her lungs to work again,” Jeremy guiltily sighed.

“She’ll be fine, honey. Still… did you really have to save somepony’s life on your birthday?” Chrysalis sighed, and Jeremy laughed.

“In my defense, I didn’t plan that,” he shot back, and Chrysalis snorted.

“You never plan anything!” she accused, and Jeremy grinned indulgently.

“Anyway… I think I’m done with rides for now. Hard to top that one, anyway,” he mused, looking up at The Drain.

Chrysalis nodded, following his gaze. “True. Perhaps we can come back another day… this time without any drowning foals, hopefully.”

Jeremy snorted. “Hopefully, yeah. Maybe we can even bring some of the kids along?”

Chrysalis considered this. “Well... I'd have to train them how to swim first... but I don't see why not,” she allowed.

They returned to the others to find that Sombra was still fast asleep, and Nightmare Moon looked to be dozing off. The sun was still high overhead, but according to a nearby clock, it was nearly eight in the evening.

“We’re about ready to go,” Jeremy greeted, and she blearily looked up.

“Ah… yes…” she murmured.

“Are you alright?” Chrysalis wondered.

“A group of foals visited whilst the pair of thee were gone… we regaled them and played with them for quite some time,” Nightmare Moon explained.

“Good time to get you back to a proper bed, then. Come on, Moony, it won’t take too long,” Jeremy encouraged.

They headed back to the palace, the train moving up the mountain again with surprising speed. Jeremy, who was still too tired to do much of anything, simply waited for the train to reach its destination. Sombra was already snoring, having been lulled to sleep by the train’s vibrations. As the train slowed to a halt, Jeremy looked down at the sleeping unicorn, scooping him up and carrying him with only a little difficulty. Sombra, still fast asleep, simply curled into the new source of warmth, murmuring drowsily.

“Awww…” Chrysalis quietly mocked, seeing the shadow king acting so cutely in Jeremy’s arms.

Jeremy tried not to laugh, his belly rumbling in amusement and causing Sombra to scrunch up his face in irritation.

They walked by the front of the train towards the platform, and Jeremy glanced over to the conductor’s cabin. He did a double take, nearly dropping Sombra in shock as he backed away slowly.

It was her.

Her many legs were each situated on a different part of the train’s mechanisms, her huge eye glancing at him disinterestedly as her two mouths frowned. Her pearlescent white body shone in the moonlight, the lack of tail or mane made even more apparent by the contrast. Humorously, a conductor’s cap looked as though it had been jammed onto her head, the lip looking as though it had been nibbled a bit by her mouths. Jeremy began breathing heavily, desperately keeping eye contact and fighting his own exhaustion as he continued to back away.

“Jeremy? Are you alright?” Chrysalis questioned, and despite himself, he looked over at her. He looked back,

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“Y-yeah,” he stuttered, glancing around wildly. “Yeah, I’m fine. L-let’s just get home, okay?”

Chrysalis nodded uncertainly, and began a brisk trot towards the palace, Jeremy hurrying close behind. Nightmare Moon, who appeared confused by the whole thing, merely followed along silently.

As soon as they were back in his room, Jeremy sighed in relief, gently lowering Sombra onto the bed and closing the door tightly behind him.

“What hast thee so perturbed?” Nightmare Moon questioned.

“One of the ghosts,” Jeremy answered. “From Tartarus. It followed me… followed us to the surface.”

Nightmare Moon swallowed nervously. “Was it one of the special ones, or a mere spectre?” she asked.

Jeremy checked the window, not even caring that it was a fake window that magically projected a moonlit sky. You never knew for sure, with her. “The one with a lot of legs,” he tersely answered, wondering if she could find them even in here. He’d expect nothing less, given her nature. Though, now that he thought of it, she’d never tried to actively hurt him. She was just… creepy. And something felt wrong whenever Jeremy was around her, much more so than the other Ghosts.

“We shall take watch,” Nightmare Moon decided.

“For the entire night? You’re already tired,” Jeremy questioned incredulously, and she nodded.

“We hath no real need of sleep, tis’ therefore most efficient for us to do it,” she explained.

Jeremy sighed. “If you say so… you think you can hold her off?”

Nightmare Moon scoffed. “We hath dealt with many demons and nightmares in our time, Jeremy. One spirit cannot slip past us so easily.”

Jeremy gave her a clearly unconvinced look. “Alright, just… promise you’ll wake us up if anything goes wrong, okay?”

Nightmare Moon nodded, and Jeremy climbed into bed, Chrysalis hugging him and Sombra securely as though to shield them from any attackers. Almost as soon as his head hit the pillow, Jeremy drifted off…

Chapter 12

Jeremy awoke in the field of flowers once again, where he noticed a few clouds in the normally clear sky. These concerned him for some reason, but he elected to ignore them for now. They weren’t enough of a problem for him yet.

The large green flower was next to him, as always, and he reached out to pet it, as always. The smaller, red flower was beside it as well, though its petals looked slightly wrinkled for some reason. He rubbed the larger, green flower, feeling anxious about something his dreaming mind could not explain or even vocalize. The flower seemed to react to this, wrapping petals around his hand and rubbing them in a vaguely comforting manner. Slowly, Jeremy relaxed, slipping back into the familiar trance of petting the flower.

He awoke to find Nightmare Moon watching him, a tired expression on her face. “Tis’ eight in the morn… Time for thee to arise,” she greeted, yawning.

“And time for you to go to bed,” Jeremy immediately chastised.

“We art a magical dream demon, we hath no need of… oh, a nap doth sound nice,” Nightmare Moon grumbled.

Jeremy chuckled. “Go on, take a break, you earned it. Did you see her at any point?”

Nightmare Moon shook her head, but looked at him a moment later. “…How dost thou know her gender?” she questioned.

Jeremy pondered a moment. “…I don’t… know…” he answered, disturbed by this implication.

Nightmare Moon gazed at him a moment more, and sighed, crossing to the bed where Chrysalis and Sombra still lay, fast asleep. Without further ado, she abruptly flung herself down onto the mattress, jostling Chrysalis and Sombra awake as she promptly (and humorously) began snoring loudly.

Chrysalis looked at her, annoyed. “How dare you wake me…” she hissed angrily, glaring at Nightmare Moon’s sleeping form.

“Hey, hey. She’s been guarding us all night from a terrifying spirit, she deserves a break,” Jeremy placated. Chrysalis grumbled, but reluctantly accepted this.

Sombra, meanwhile, was less consoled. “Doesn’t she have her own bed to sleep on?” he furiously questioned, adjusting his rumpled cape.

Jeremy raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you?” he pointed out.

Sombra narrowed his eyes at him. “…Fine,” he grumbled.

“Besides, you’ve been sleeping for a while now. You passed out on the train last night,” Jeremy informed him. At this, Sombra looked strangely guilty.

“Right, I… right. I’ll go find my own bed, then. Sorry for being rude,” he muttered, departing.

Jeremy exchanged a worried look with Chrysalis.

“Is he okay?” she whispered in concern.

“I dunno,” Jeremy whispered back. “He’s been acting weird for a while, now that I think about it…” Jeremy hesitantly opened the door, catching the flick of Sombra’s tail as he practically leapt into his own, slamming his door behind him.

Something’s wrong with Sombra, he mused. But what?

Not one to leave fate waiting, Jeremy knocked on Sombra’s door. “Sombra? You in there?” he asked.

No answer returned, not even a snarky insult or vicious growl.

“…Sombra?” Jeremy tried again, Chrysalis joining him.

“Fine! Doing just fine, just –“ Sombra answered, to their surprise. He was interrupted by some kind of strange growl, sounding distinctly… inhuman.

“Sombra, I’m worried and I’m coming in there,” Jeremy declared. He opened the door, half expecting to see Sombra in his larger, smoky form. To his odd twinge of disappointment, Sombra was entirely normal, though he looked distinctly nervous.

“Nothing’s wrong, I’m just… just… hungry,” Sombra explained, his stomach making that same growl from before for emphasis.

Relief flickered across Jeremy’s face. “Is that all? I bet the dining hall’s open now,” he noted.

“Yeah. I’ll… get some food there,” Sombra muttered, pushing past him.

Jeremy raised an eyebrow, his fears only partially assuaged by Sombra’s return to his former rudeness.

This is going to be an episode, isn’t it, Chrysalis noted.

Oh, definitely, Jeremy agreed.

He popped into Sam’s room, the latter looking at him blearily from his sprawled position across his bed. “Get ready to run around and stuff later, I feel like things are about to happen,” Jeremy announced, and promptly closed the door.

“Wait… what?” he heard Sam dazedly mutter from behind the door, but Jeremy and Chrysalis were already heading for the hallway’s exit.

It didn’t take them very long to find the royal dining hall, but to their confusion Sombra had already been and gone.

“He came in here, bumped into a noble, and they shouted at each other for a moment before he just… ran off,” Celestia recounted, Luna nodding in affirmation as she swallowed her hash browns.

“Right… I think something’s up with him. Just in case things go south… can you get the others ready?” he asked. Celestia nodded, and Jeremy and Chrysalis dashed off to find Sombra once more.

They asked a few passersby in the street, all of whom told them tales of an incredibly rude and loud stallion who had ran past them while alternating between muttering and shouting ‘truly dreadful obscenities’.

“So, not much of a departure from the norm, hm?” Chrysalis remarked as they continued down a heavily crowded street.

Jeremy laughed, and stopped guiltily. “What do you think is happening?” he asked her, distinctly remembering his promise to involve her more in his endeavors and already regretting it.

“Well… he told us he was hungry, but he didn’t eat anything… maybe he’s gone insane? Hearing voices, something like that?” Chrysalis guessed.

“We’re in for a lot of trouble if he is, I don’t think mercy can cure hallucinations,” Jeremy replied worriedly.

“Don’t worry, you’ll figure it out,” Chrysalis dismissed with an encouraging look. “You’ve got all the time in the world, after all!”

Finally, they stopped in front of an imposing purple and gray-blue building, twin unicorns with their horns jutting forward standing to either side of the marble steps leading up to the entrance.

“What is this place?” Jeremy asked.

“The library. I remember stopping here to try and read up on potential weaknesses during the invasion,” Chrysalis immediately replied. When Jeremy raised an eyebrow at her, she blushed and looked away. “What? That was what I was doing, at the time,” she defended.

Jeremy chuckled. “Yes, but… the library? You’re reminding me of Twilight,” he teased.

“Given Twilight was clever enough to outwit me, I’ll take that as a compliment,” Chrysalis answered regally, tossing her head. Jeremy laughed and opened the doors, hardly even remembering what they had come for.

Reality came crashing down as soon as he opened his eyes to get a look at the state of the place. Books had been strewn everywhere, some looking as though they had been tossed from the very highest bookshelves – which, given ponies’ apparent affinity for ridiculously tall bookshelves, was quite a distance to be thrown.

“What the-“ Jeremy started, stopping abruptly as he prevented himself from swearing on a kids’ show.

In the middle of the maelstrom of books was an absolutely furious pony with a pale yellow coat, red hair, and a dark blue sweater. Moondancer, Twilight’s old friend, Jeremy remembered.

“Um. I’m guessing you saw Sombra,” he greeted, walking up to her.

“Saw? Saw?!” Moondancer cried, livid. “He goes into the library, trashes half the place looking for a book about species, which I would have been happy to point him to, and storms off through the window!” she ranted, pointing at a window at the other end of the library that indeed looked as though it had been violently crashed through.

“Species?” Chrysalis muttered in consternation, and Moondancer’s ears flicked.

“Yes. Specifically, pony-like species,” she answered, in such an automatic manner that Jeremy suspected she simply could not help herself.

“Did he find a book in particular, before he crashed through the window?” Jeremy asked.

Moondancer grumbled, levitating a book over to him with her magic. “Page 47, if I recall. Hopefully you’ll make more sense of this than I am, because all I know is that I have to call the window repair shop again.” With that, she stalked off, a few books levitating in tow.

Jeremy tugged at the collar of his shirt as he watched her go. “We should probably pay for that,” he muttered to Chrysalis.

“On it,” Chrysalis whispered back, and he heard her mental voice giving instructions to a few changelings.

Satisfied, Jeremy examined the book Sombra had found. “On The Origines of Ponie-Like Species, by Star Swirl the Bearded,” he read off the cover. “Why was Sombra suddenly interested in biology?”

Chrysalis narrowed her eyes. “Not biology…” she muttered.

“Huh?” Jeremy replied, confused.

“Open the book to page 47,” Chrysalis suddenly instructed.

Jeremy obediently did so, skimming through until he found it. “Umbra,” Jeremy read. “What’s an ‘umbrum’?”

Chrysalis quickly read the text, eyes almost a blur as she processed Star Swirl’s cramped hoofwriting. “They’re a special offshoot of unicorns that specialize strictly in shadow magic. And… Jeremy, look at this,” Chrysalis breathed, pointing at the accompanying image Star Swirl had drawn. It was of a unicorn mare with gray, almost black pelt and blacker hair, shifting and swirling on the page like inky smoke.

“He wasn’t looking for general biology… he was interested in his own biology,” Jeremy realized.

Chrysalis looked up at the window Sombra had crashed through again, seemingly calculating something. She paled when she was done. “We need to get the others. Cadance and Shining Armor. Now,” she demanded, the urgency of her tone causing Jeremy to snap the book shut.

“We’ll need to fly,” Jeremy replied, and Chrysalis immediately stooped low, Jeremy hopping on her back.

Chrysalis flew as fast as she could to the castle, fairly crashing through the doors. Upon the sight of them, Celestia leapt off her throne, horn sparking yellow.

“Oh, it’s you two,” she realized, catching sight of who she was aiming her magic at.

“We need to go, no time to explain!” Jeremy replied, already heading for the Secret Hallway.

They entered the hidden door to find the twelve Elements of Harmony, Princess Cadance, Starlight Glimmer, Shining Armor, Nightmare Moon and even Flurry Heart waiting for them, expressions of trepidation on their faces.

“What’s going on?” Sam demanded. “I got everyone like you said, but nobody knows what’s happening.”

Jeremy glanced around at them, taking a deep breath. “Sombra’s acting strange. I have a theory about what’s going on, but the important thing is that he’s currently booking it in the direction of the Crystal Empire and we need to beat him there in case something bad happens,” he rattled off.

Shining Armor stomped a hoof against the stone floor in anger. “I knew it!” the Crystal Prince shouted angrily. “I knew he couldn’t be trusted!”

Jeremy glared at him. “Shining Armor, now is not the time!” he retorted. “Let’s just get going so we can catch up to him!” And as the group ran for the throne room, Jeremy was sure that one question echoed through all of their minds.

Were they rushing to help Sombra… or to stop him?

They found Celestia and Luna waiting outside the throne room, two large chariots already fitted to four Wonderbolts.

“Get in,” Celestia ordered.

Without further ado, the group hopped into the chariots, Jeremy noting with some dismay the distinctly different design of these models. They had clearly been built for speed, not luxury.

As soon as they were in the air, Celestia turned to Jeremy. “It’s an hour’s ride to the Crystal Empire if our Guards keep their pace, and Sombra can’t be going as fast as our fastest Wonderbolts. That said, I sense you have more information to share with us,” Celestia ordered.

Jeremy nodded, revealing the book he had taken from the library. “Before Sombra bolted, he was searching high and low for the information on page 47 of this book,” Jeremy began, opening it.

“Umbra?” Rainbow wondered, peering upside down at the page’s contents.

“A species of shadow pony derivative of unicorns, having split approximately fifteen hundred years ago at earliest historical record. They’re just about biologically immortal – once they mature, they can’t age,” Jeremy paraphrased. “They feed on hatred, kind of similar to a Windigo except they can’t do stuff like distrust or fear, or other negative emotions. It has to be hatred, the more vicious the better. There used to be thousands of umbra, all across the world, until… someone caged them all up somewhere.”

There was a moment of awkward silence as everyone looked at Celestia.

“I didn’t do it!” she denied. “That was before even my time.”

Jeremy was just then hit by a revelation that felt almost like a physical blow to the chest. “Sombra said he was hungry before he dashed out on us, remember?” he announced, turning to Chrysalis.

Her eyes widened. “If umbra feed on hatred, then… that fits! He’d just spent a day being nice to you and being nice around you, so he couldn’t feed!”

Jeremy nodded. “And everyone we talked to today that Sombra had bumped into – he always did something to annoy them! He was deliberately trying to make them hate him – so he could get food!” The others silently watched the discussion, eyes going back and forth as if watching a tennis rally.

“Okay, we’ve established he got hungry. Really hungry… and it’s probably my fault,” Jeremy muttered under his breath guiltily. “But why is he going for the Crystal Empire? It’s a long way to travel for a meal.”

Chrysalis raised an eyebrow at him. “Are you kidding? He’s the one thing all of them hate! He’d have free food for centuries there!” Shining Armor’s jaw dropped.

“Okay, so he’s pretty clearly heading to the Crystal Empire because he’s starving. That part makes sense. But why was he researching his own species’ history?” Jeremy wondered.

Celestia coughed lightly, and they turned to her. “Well, actually…” she hesitantly interjected. “We didn’t… know Sombra was an umbrum. We merely assumed he was a particularly corrupt unicorn. And, given that he never corrected us… I’m not sure Sombra knew, either. He might not have even known that he could feast upon hatred until he read that book.”

Jeremy considered this for a moment. “Well… I suppose that’s a valid reason… still, I feel like we’re missing something,” he muttered.

“So… um… I guess we just… find Sombra, get some food in him somehow, and… bring him back?” Sam nervously asked.

“Yeah, I guess so…” Jeremy sighed, looking out towards the rapidly passing landscape below them.

“What’s wrong?” Cadance asked.

Jeremy gazed at the floor of the chariot, a troubled expression on his face. “Well… it’s just… it turns out my being kind to Sombra was actually… harmful to him, biologically. And if I’d gotten my way, if everyone had started being kind to him… he’d have starved to death,” Jeremy hoarsely whispered.

Cadance put a sympathetic wing around him. “You couldn’t have known,” she consoled. “None of us could have. Who could guess that being kind was starving him?”

They touched down in the Crystal Empire just a short while later, Jeremy still clutching the book on species even as he hopped over the side of the chariot. The Wonderbolts who had been carrying the chariot collapsed, exhausted, and Celestia gazed sympathetically at them before returning her attention to a group of Crystal Guards, who had evidently been expecting them.

“King Sombra is coming,” she announced to general horror. “Ready the rest of the Guard – quickly!” The Guards present quickly scampered, and ponies who had overheard practically stampeded in their efforts to run to safety.

“Celestia!” Jeremy objected sharply. “What are you doing?!”

Celestia turned to him. “The easiest way to feed him is to rile up emotions about his sudden return. I know it’s not the most pleasant way of going about it, but that was what I came up with. Do you have a better idea?” Celestia demanded.

Jeremy glared at the floor. “No,” he grumbled, reluctantly seeing her logic.

“You need to find him first. Explain what’s going on, so he doesn’t overreact and can feed properly,” she ordered, gesturing a hoof at the snowy wastes. Jeremy looked at the harsh, wintry landscape, feeling a chill in his bones just gazing at the immense amounts of snow and ice.

“I’ll need a suit,” he countered. “I won’t survive that cold dressed like this.”

Cory immediately stripped off his suit jacket, tossing it to Jeremy. “It’s insulating, Boston gets real cold in the winters sometimes,” Cory explained.

“Thanks. We know what direction Sombra’s coming from?” Jeremy asked. Celestia pointed, and he nodded, taking a deep breath. “Chrysalis, you coming?” he asked.

Chrysalis shook her head. “Changelings and cold… don’t mix. Take care of yourself, honey, I’ll see you in a bit,” she answered.

Jeremy nodded, and walked past the barrier separating the balmy Crystal Empire from the arctic tundra beyond, trudging in Sombra’s direction with an obvious reluctance in his step.

What felt like hours later, Jeremy finally spotted him. It wasn’t hard to pick out Sombra upon the wintry tundra, him being black and everything else in the world being white.

“SOMBRA!” Jeremy howled over the wind. “SOMBRA!”

But Sombra couldn’t hear him. Jeremy hopped through the deep snow to get closer, pulling Cory’s suit jacket about himself and shivering as he tried to get within earshot.

“SOMBRA!” he howled as loudly as he could.

He could hear Sombra muttering loudly to himself, and strained his ears to pick up what the shadow king was saying. “…where is it… it has to… I have to… them…” was all he could make out. As he approached, Sombra appeared to be digging through the snow, shoving aside vast quantities with his magic.

“Sombra!” Jeremy called out, more quietly now that he was certain Sombra could hear him.

Unfortunately, Sombra chose that moment to dump a pile of snow on him, seemingly not even noticing as Jeremy spluttered and dug his way out of a freshly created dune of snow and ice.

“Hey!” he shouted indignantly, at last getting Sombra’s attention.

“Jeremy?” Sombra noticed, evidently shocked to see him.

“Yeah, it’s me. Don’t worry, we traced your steps and figured it out. We can get you a proper meal, it’s fine,” Jeremy explained hurriedly.

“What?” Sombra asked in blank confusion.

“…Well, you… feed on hatred, right?” Jeremy replied, raising an eyebrow at this unexpected reaction.

“Yes, I just learned about that myself, and I already fed in Canterlot. Was that… not obvious…?” Sombra asked.

Jeremy stared at him, by now completely perplexed. “…No…?” he answered, as it was all he could think of to say to this utterly bizarre turn of events. If Sombra wasn’t looking for food, then… “Sombra, if you’re not feeding, what are you doing all the way out here?” he asked suspiciously.

Sombra looked around nervously. “I… can’t tell you,” he denied, glancing back at the pit of freshly excavated tundra.

Jeremy took a seat beside him in the snow, immediately regretting this decision but pressing on anyway. “You know you can tell me anything, right? I’m not gonna judge you,” he reminded the shadow unicorn.

“I… yes, I know, it’s just…” Sombra trailed off, apparently unable or unwilling to explain.

Jeremy waited, but it became clear that Sombra was more anxious to continue searching than to talk to him. “Well… whatever it is you’re looking for… can I help you find it?” he offered.

Sombra looked at him, guilt etched into his expression. “No. I appreciate the offer, but… no. You can’t help,” he dismissed.

Jeremy looked at him sadly. “Well… alright. The crystal ponies are good and riled up for your return, Celestia saw to that, so… if you need a meal, I guess you can just drop by…?” Jeremy finished, wondering what was happening.

“…Sure,” Sombra answered, sounding as though he wasn’t at all intending to take Jeremy up on his offer.

“…Right…” Jeremy mumbled.

There was a pause, in which the harsh winds and falling snow did their best to make up for the awkward silence between the two. Unable to think of anything else to say, Jeremy trudged away into the snow, in the direction of the Crystal Empire once more.

As he stepped across the magical barrier blocking out the wintry cold, Jeremy collapsed on the warm grass, rubbing his frozen arms to restore feeling in them.

“Honey? You okay?” Chrysalis asked, rushing over.

“Frigid, but otherwise alright,” Jeremy reported.

“…Where’s Sombra?” Chrysalis asked, and Jeremy noticed the others watching him, waiting for his response.

“He’s out there… looking for something. It’s not here, he’s not even hungry. He’s just… I don’t even know what he’s doing anymore,” Jeremy sighed.

A pair of changelings brought him a blanket, and he looked at them in surprise. “We’re some of Thorax’s students… greetings, King Jeremy,” one greeted.

“Hello,” Jeremy answered, feeling distinctly awkward as he looked at their black carapaces and suspicious blue compound eyes.

“Don’t look at him like that, he’s nothing like the old King,” Chrysalis snapped. They immediately flinched, and Jeremy shot a warning look at her.

“Hey, hey. They’ve every right to be suspicious.” He returned his gaze to the pair of drones, who were now staring at him with more curiosity than distrust. “I’m not going to hurt you in any way or exile you, okay? You have the right to dislike me for any reason – even no reason at all,” he soothed.

They raised an eyebrow at each other. “The other drones said you were a very strange King… but I don’t think strange even begins to cover it,” one replied.

Jeremy chuckled. “Why, thank you,” he returned with a smile. The smile quickly disappeared, though, as he remembered the mission he had been given. “Sombra… I dunno, do you think there’s anything we can do at this point?” he asked Celestia, who shook her head.

“If he’s searching for something, out there… We can only hope he finds it.”

They led him to the massive, Eiffel-Tower like Crystal Palace, where Shining Armor and Cadance immediately made for the Crystal Heart, which was floating as usual on its stalagmite-shaped pedestal.

“Sire!” A Crystal Guard called, rushing up to Shining Armor. “Have you defeated Sombra yet?”

Shining Armor looked nervously at Jeremy, who helplessly shrugged. “He’s… still out there. We don’t know what he’s doing, but he doesn’t seem to be interested in attacking… at least, not yet,” Shining amended. The group glanced at each other uncomfortably.

“Your orders, then?” the Guard asked, apparently not noticing the mood.

Shining cleared his throat. “Keep the citizens from starting a riot, and keep them safe,” he instructed.

The Crystal Guard saluted. “Yes, sir!” he barked, and sped away, purpose in his step.

Shining sighed, watching him go. “This feels so… wrong,” the Crystal Prince said hollowly. “We’re deliberately spreading hate and fear about someone who we know to be innocent. I mean, it’s what he eats, but… still.”

Jeremy gave a sigh to match Shining Armor’s. “I know what you mean. I can’t really say whether what we’re doing is right, even if it is for a good purpose. What was that old saying – ‘doing the wrong thing for the right reasons?’ It feels like that.”

Cadance took a seat on the floor. “It makes me wonder… what if, back when he was originally King, what if Sombra didn’t send everypony to the mines just because he was bad at leadership, or malevolent? What if it was more of an instinct to make them dislike him, and thus keep him alive?” she wondered.

“It’s a valid theory,” Jeremy agreed. “Of course, to know the answer, we’d have to have more than just one umbrum to ask, and that’s not happening anytime soon – Sombra’s the only one left.” Chrysalis looked as though she wanted to say something more, but at that moment a pair of Crystal Guards galloped up to Shining Armor and Princess Cadance.

“Your Majesties, we have captured King Sombra!” one jubilantly announced, beaming widely.

“C-captured? So quickly?” Celestia queried, shocked. She exchanged a worried look with Jeremy.

“Also, the Royal Parliament of the Crystal Kingdom is holding a trial for him as we speak! We’re finally going to bring that scum to justice!” the second added.

Jeremy’s heart plummeted into his shoes. “We need to go,” he declared to the group at large.

“Agreed, let us move!” Luna commanded.

They raced towards the courtroom, Cadance in the lead as she fairly barreled over ponies in the way. Those ponies that were not in the way were watching them, evil grins on their faces as they conversed in hushed whispers about the fate of their hated ex-king.

What’s happening? Jeremy wondered, looking at them.

I think Celestia went a little too far in getting them to feel hate for him, Chrysalis answered, carefully holding her breath even as she ran.

You okay? Jeremy asked, noticing this.

All this hatred… it tastes so disgusting, I can barely tolerate it, she explained, flicking an ear in annoyance.

Right… Jeremy trailed off, unsure of what else to say. This entire morning had been such a wild ride…

The group of humans, ponies and changelings arrived at the courtroom to find Sombra in a cage, ponies nearby jeering and throwing things at him. The cage was lined with a familiar, blue-purple stone… Runestone, Jeremy remembered. Somehow, Celestia’s invention had spread here as well.

“Sombra!” Jeremy called, and Sombra looked over hopefully.

“Jeremy! I found it just before I got captured!” he shouted out, barely audible over the cacophony.

“Found what?!” Jeremy called back.

Whatever Sombra answered, it was cut off as a blast of horns sounded. Sombra looked truly afraid at this, and a pair of Royal Guards hoisted the cage onto their backs and began carrying it into the courtroom.

“Let the trial begin!” one Guard hollered, and the crowd roared their approval, stomping and shouting riotously as Sombra disappeared into the gigantic courtroom doors.

“We have to follow him,” Jeremy urgently claimed.

“On it,” Cadance answered, spreading her wings and quickly flying through the doors, Shining Armor galloping close behind.

“The rest of us will have to sit in the stands,” Celestia explained, leading the remainder of the group towards the doors.

“Aren’t you royalty?” Jeremy inquired incredulously.

“Not in this part of Equestria, no. We are visiting royalty, and are treated as guests of the court,” Luna explained. Jeremy grumbled inaudibly, but allowed himself to be led into the expansive courtroom.

The first thing he noticed was how overboard they had gone with Sombra’s security. Runestones of every size and type littered the area around his cage, looking as though they had been piled there in a hurry. The cage was padlocked, and underneath the runestone coating looked to be made of metal, which was an unusual touch in a land full of crystals. Chains of every sort had been tied around the cage bars, nearly obscuring Sombra from view. Jeremy spared a glance at Celestia, to find her already looking at him, a clearly guilty expression on her face.

“I know, I’m sorry,” she mouthed at him over the commotion. The noise outside was still audible, but what was far louder was the more immediate presence of what appeared to be dozens of Crystal Guards, each with the same furious expression at the cage in the center of the courtroom.

If nothing else, he’s getting quite the feast from this, Chrysalis remarked.

Let’s just hope this meal isn’t his last. I don’t like the looks on these Guards’ faces, Jeremy returned.

“Order! Order in the Court!” a judge shouted, rapping her gavel against the courtroom table. The rabble slowly subsided, Guards eagerly taking their seat as they waited for the trial to begin.

“Can’t we stop this?” Jeremy whispered frantically to Celestia.

“Cadance might, but even she has to follow the rules of the court. This may get… unpleasant,” Celestia whispered back.

“All rise,” the court bailiff intoned, her powder-blue mane swishing as she adjusted a brooch on her gray, crystalline coat. “The High Court of the Crystal Kingdom is now in session, Judge Civil Tone presiding. You may be seated,” she concluded, and everyone took their seats once again.

Jeremy’s mouth was dry, his nervous expression flicking around the room to take notice of exit routes and other possible rescuing strategies. The others weren’t faring much better, judging from their expressions, and Celestia kept looking around as though she couldn’t believe her eyes.

“Calling the case of Sombra versus the State. Are both sides ready?” Civil Tone asked tensely.

“Ready for the prosecution, your Honor,” a well-dressed guard mare immediately answered, practically brimming with excitement. Silence followed her words.

“And the defense?” Civil Tongue asked after a moment, raising an eyebrow at Sombra. Sombra refused to meet her eyes, muttering something under his breath.

“No defense? That is a violation of the civil code, and you will be held in contempt of court if a defense is not found,” Civil Tongue announced disdainfully. A moment of silence more, as Sombra frantically looked around, eyes alighting only on more and more crystal ponies, who only glared stonily back.

Finally, as Civil Tongue was about to open her mouth once more, Princess Cadance leapt out of the stands, coming to stand beside Sombra. “Ready for the defense, your Honor!”

To say this left everyone flabbergasted was an understatement. Even to say that it was the single most shocking thing they would ever witness in their entire lives failed to capture the scope of the court’s reaction to Cadance’s proclamation. There were immediate shouts of dismay, even denial, among the Guards, and the stands fared little better.

Even Judge Civil Tongue’s jaw dropped for a moment, but she quickly collected herself, banging her gavel loudly to silence the cacophony. “Order! Order in the Court!” she yelled as loudly as she could, and the crowd slowly quieted. “Allow me to clarify. You, Princess Mi Amore de Cadenza, are hereby enlisting yourself as the defendant for King Sombra?” Civil Tongue asked, only a hint of incredulity in her tone.

Cadance nodded firmly. “Under Crystal Kingdom law, it is my unalienable right as Princess to defend any citizen of the Kingdom from any offense,” she asserted.

“Is Sombra a citizen of the Kingdom?” Civil Tongue asked, more curiosity than stubbornness in her tone.

“I am,” Sombra spoke up for the first time. “I was the son of a court noble. ‘Armor Flak,’ look him up, he should be in the historical records somewhere.”

Civil Tongue raised an eyebrow. “The same historical records you had burned?” she reminded him, and Sombra paled.

Unfortunate, Jeremy mentally commented.

Civil Tongue sighed. “Regardless, no evidence exists to contradict your being a citizen of the Crystal Kingdom, and therefore the case will proceed. Will the clerk please swear in the jury?” The clerk, a stallion in a sharp (and crystalline) business suit, proceeded to do so, and Jeremy noted with rising anger that the jury was composed entirely of Crystal Guards.

How’s that for a random sampling? he complained.

Unfortunate, Chrysalis returned, frowning at this.

With that done, Civil Tongue nodded. “Would the prosecution and defense make their opening statements?”

The prosecution stood. “Your Honor, ladies and gentlecolts, the defendant stands before us charged with the crimes of high treason, conspiracy against a Princess, assassination of said Princess, unlawful usurpation of the throne, tyranny of the highest caliber, demagoguery, slavery, torture, and much more. The evidence I will present to you will prove that the defendant is guilty as charged,” she announced, and sat back down.

“Very well. And the defense?” Civil Tongue continued, and this time it was Cadance’s turn to stand.

“Your Honor, I would argue that at least half the charges levied against my client deserve a full understanding of the facts, rather than a biased interpretation. My client is as much a victim as a villain, and deserves clemency on those matters he had little control in.”

Civil Tongue was evidently interested, but most of the jury and stands scoffed at this. “I will have the defense go first,” she decided, and Cadance nervously cleared her throat.

“Sombra is not a villain by choice, nor is he, as many have suspected and written, a unicorn. He is an umbrum, a species of pony closely related to the unicorn but specializing only in shadow magic.”

Here she was interrupted by the very impatient-looking prosecutor. “Your Honor, is this necessary?” she complained.

“For the sake of argument, we will assume it is,” Civil Tongue curtly admonished her, then turned back to Cadance. “Please continue.”

Cadance nodded. “Right. Yes. As I was saying, Sombra is an umbrum, and umbra do not have the same diet as ponies. They are more akin to changelings and Windigo in that they consume emotions as a form of magical sustenance. But where Windigo prey on fear, and changelings love, umbra consume hatred.” Civil Tongue raised an eyebrow, and Cadance continued.

“Furthermore, as anyone here can confirm, there are no others like Sombra. He is the last of his kind, and had no idea he was an umbrum until very recently.”

Chrysalis made a slightly disparaging sound, and Jeremy looked at her curiously. She said nothing more, however, and he returned his attention to the trial.

“In addition, Sombra has been referred to incorrectly as a unicorn multiple times, both during his reign, to his face, and thereafter. Therefore, I think we can safely conclude that Sombra did not know he was an umbrum at the time of his reign, and also thought he was a unicorn. He was also, as many here can note, widely disliked and hated during his reign,” Cadance announced.

“That is a fair conclusion to make, Princess Cadance. But what does it mean with regards to his crimes?” Civil Tongue asked.

“My point is that my client Sombra did not commit these crimes to be cruel in and of itself, nor for any form of personal gain. He did so for sustenance – to ensure a steady supply of food for himself. Therefore, this may not have been the results of intentional decisions on his part, but rather instinct,” Cadance asserted.

Not bad, Jeremy noted. She's only working off a paragraph of information and maybe half an hour of thinking about it, and that was a solid legal defense.

Though, half her points aren’t correct… Chrysalis noted. Sombra also looked as though he wanted to disagree, but he kept his mouth firmly shut.

“Does the prosecution have any response to this argument?” Civil Tongue asked.

“Your Honor, even if Sombra did commit these crimes as a source of food, their criminal nature remains. If an Ursa Minor rampages through a city, it is still our duty to prevent it from doing so again. Besides, if we are speaking of biological necessity, I would argue that there is perhaps a reason why there is only one umbrum left,” the prosecuting mare smugly retorted.

Sombra was instantly incensed, purple smoke beginning to waft from his eyes, but Jeremy caught his eyes and shook his head. Reluctantly, Sombra managed to calm himself.

“Does the defense have a response?” Civil Tongue asked.

“Yes, your Honor,” Cadance replied, frowning in thought. “I would like to argue that despite the criminal nature of these acts, the fact that Sombra was required to do them for survival deserves merit in the consideration of his punishment. Though we might dissuade an Ursa Major from rampaging, we would not lock it up for eternity just for doing what it was born to do. I would also like to add that Sombra indeed already has been punished once, having spent the better part of two years locked in Tartarus.”

The prosecuting mare scoffed. “Two years is nothing – a millennium would be better suited to crimes of this magnitude.”

Civil Tongue rapped her gavel sharply. “Do not speak out of order, prosecution,” she warned.

“I apologize, your Honor,” the prosecuting mare immediately replied.

“Are there any further statements to make?” Civil Tongue asked the court at large. When no reply greeted her, she rapped her gavel once more. “Very well. We will now ask the jury for their verdict,” she announced. There was a moment of hushed deliberation among the members of the jury, a few pointed glares sent Sombra's way as the Crystal Guards briefly debated. Finally, after a period of what seemed like minutes, the Guard at the front leftmost position turned around.

“We are ready to deliver the verdict,” he announced. Civil Tongue nodded at him. “We, the jury, find the defendant… guilty of all charges,” the Guard announced, a sadistic grin adorning his face.

Pandemonium broke out amongst the stands, as the crowd alternately rioted with glee and dismay at the verdict. It seemed that though Cadance’s words had had some effect on the general mood, it was not quite enough, and those ponies that had attended were now bitterly split between the two arguments. The cacophony grew louder and louder, unhindered by Civil Tongue’s attempts to restore order, and some of the Guards began to press in towards Sombra.

What do we do? Chrysalis asked Jeremy.

Get to Sombra, make sure he’s safe. Then… I don’t know, Jeremy admitted, already pushing past ponies himself.

They found Sombra surrounded by a veritable onslaught of onlookers, hurling insults at him.

“Jeremy!” Sombra called out.

“Sombra! Don’t worry, we’ll get you out of here!” Jeremy attempted to reassure him.

To his surprise, Sombra ignored this. “Forget that! I couldn’t tell you before! I found the entrance! The entrance to the prison!” he shouted, managing to quiet everyone else.

There was a moment of silence.

“…What prison?” Civil Tongue asked.

“The prison the umbra were held in. I was trying to find my people,” Sombra answered sadly.

“Your people are dead! There aren’t any umbra left!” a Guard jeered.

“Actually, if I may interject,” Queen Chrysalis proclaimed icily, holding up the book that had started the whole mess. “Judge Civil Tongue, if you’d kindly turn to page forty-seven and read aloud?”

Civil Tongue took the book in her magic, staring at it in confusion, and opened it to page forty-seven. “Umbra,” she read. She muttered to herself for a while, quickly speedreading to page forty-eight. She paled, and read the page again.

“What’s it say?” one of the ponies in the stands called out.

“It says that umbra are biologically immortal. They do not age past maturity. It also says that they are all imprisoned somewhere, waiting to be freed,” Civil Tongue stammered.

“…So? They’re locked up. Unless you managed to open the prison,” the prosecuting mare retorted, looking at Sombra.

He shook his head. “I’ve been trying to gather enough hatred for years to open that prison and free my people. I know, umbra are a plague to this world. But… I am the last umbrum left. Do I not have a duty to my kind?” he asked the crowd at large. Silence greeted him.

Finally, Shining Armor stepped forward. “You… were trying to free your people? The whole time?” he asked.

Sombra nodded. “It was what my dad had always taught me. That the umbra were a noble race, who didn’t deserve their plight. Of course, we are anything but noble,” Sombra muttered to himself. "He told me I'd need to make everyone hate me in order to get them out, and that the best way to do so was to become a high-ranking, snobbish, racist noble. I thought I'd do him one better by becoming a tyrannical king, passing hurtful laws that made no sense and forcing crystal ponies into slavery to mine crystals that we already had far too many of," Sombra revealed. There was another moment of shocked silence as the crystal ponies tried to process this.

“So you found the entrance to the prison, and tried to unlock it. Then what?” Jeremy asked.

“I ran out,” Sombra answered simply.

“Of what?” Jeremy wondered.

“Hatred. Despite twenty years’ worth of hatred from the populace, in addition to the hate I have received since my return, it was still not enough to break the lock. I… I am sorry. I won’t try it again,” Sombra sighed, laying down in his cage.

“Sombra?” Jeremy asked quietly.

“Leave me be, Element of Love,” Sombra snarled. “I cannot enjoy the world you have created, and neither will my people.” Jeremy reeled back, a stricken expression on his face as though he’d been punched in the gut.

“Sombra…” Chrysalis began, but Sombra glared furiously at her.

“And you, changeling! Your kind was responsible for our imprisonment! Or did your all-seeing hive mind forget to tell you that, bug?” he growled.

“W…wha…?” Chrysalis stammered, shocked.

“He’s right. Star Swirl’s evidence points to a massive war between umbra and changelings, taking place during and just after Discord’s reign,” Civil Tongue noted, pointing to page 49 of Star Swirl's book. “To quote, ‘The changelings, fueled by determination and led by Queen Diligita, won the war and sealed the umbra underground, never to see the light of day again.’”

Now it was Chrysalis’ turn to look as though she’d been punched. “But… I didn’t…” she weakly protested.

“All of you are the monsters! You imprisoned and never bothered to free my entire race, you preach ‘acceptance of differences’ and ‘tolerance’ and yet you hold a trial for me on account of being different?!” Sombra howled, rage and grief warring behind his eyes. “Then, as if that wasn’t enough, you all try to get rid of my only source of food by being all nice and kind! You’re murderers, the lot of you! No, not even murderers…” Sombra paused. “You’re committing genocide.”

Instantly, Jeremy’s vision flashed red. Scenes he didn’t understand began playing in his mind. Sombra, bloodied and beaten. Chrysalis, gashes of green marring her normally smooth black exoskeleton. Nightmare Moon, wings torn and bleeding blue magic even as her eyes glowed with a stubborn, heroic light. Tirek, stubborn to the last, still twitching and clenching as though he were trying to get up. Throughout it all, as they lay on the floor, that word repeated in his head, like an unceasing mantra, as the manic, unceasing laughter of a familiar voice echoed in his head. Genocide… The voice whispered, and everything went black.

Jeremy staggered back, waking from the nightmare as suddenly and unexpectedly as he had entered it. He looked around, wondering how long he’d been out, only to find he was in the exact same place. What had seemed like a few minutes at least had actually barely been a second. Some small part of him wondered what was happening to him, but it was quickly drowned out as he noticed that the mood had abruptly shifted. Everyone else was staring at the door, expressions of openmouthed shock on their faces. He turned to see what this was about, and stared as well as the diminutive Flurry Heart wandered into the room.

“Flurry? Oh, baby, I’m so sorry!” Cadance called out as soon as she caught sight of her. “I completely forgot about playtime – don’t worry, mama’s right here!”

Flurry emitted a pleased coo, her chubby legs stumbling over themselves as she began making her way over to her mama. However, because Sombra’s cage was in between the two of them, Flurry found herself blocked by a series of metal bars.

“Ma?” she called out, looking around to try and find a way through the bars.

“Go around, foal,” Sombra groaned in exasperation, still laying down in his cage.

His words did not seem to register with Flurry Heart, who was now attempting to push through a bar and into Sombra’s cage, presumably with the intent of going through the other side.

“I said go around!” Sombra growled, eyes constricting as he began to assume his shadowy, larger form.

Flurry shrank back, tearing up in fright. “W…WAAAAAAAA!” she wailed, falling back on her rump and bawling. Cadance flew over and scooped her up in a flash of her pink wings, and over Flurry’s crying, she approached Sombra.

Thwack!

Cadance had punched Sombra through the bars. “How dare you frighten my daughter like that, you… you… monster!” Cadance hissed, glaring at Sombra, who had stumbled back in shock. She was about to say something else, but at that moment the ground began to rumble.

“Oh, thank goodness, a convenient earthquake,” Jeremy could hear Sam muttering in the background.

“What’s happening now?” Luna called out, trying to find her footing as the ground violently shook.

Just then, a Guard ran into the courtroom, tearing up the carpet in his haste. “Captain Shining Armor, sir!” he shouted.

“What is it, Guard?” Shining asked, half exasperated and half terrified.

“There’s… some kind of dark cloud coming from the Palace!” the Guard announced, gesturing outside.

“The umbra,” Sombra whispered. There was a moment of silence as everyone digested this fact.

And, for the third time that day, pandemonium reigned in the court. But this was no mere political difference, or even the cavalcade of one-sided insults that had greeted Sombra at his arrival. No, this was an all-out stampede. Ponies trampled one another to flee the courtroom, screaming in panic as they pushed chairs, benches, and even broke down doors to escape the oncoming terror of a literal army of umbra. Shining Armor was screaming orders left and right, to little effect. Before the ponies could reach the outer doors of the courtroom, they were suddenly barricaded inside, the doors slamming shut and not budging no matter how many ponies attempted to push them.

Freedom, a deep and ancient voice spoke. Freedom!

A pure black cloud of smoke poured into the center of the courtroom, and began splitting apart, individual ponies materializing from the shadows. The umbra were gray, with black, smoky manes, just like Sombra. Their horns were slightly curved, though they lacked Sombra’s red glow and green eyes. They hissed menacingly at the ponies surrounding them, who couldn’t help but feel themselves to be the ones surrounded.

Finally, a significantly bigger portion of the smoke that surrounded them condensed into a taller umbrum, carrying a crown similar to Sombra’s own, though this was composed of what appeared to be glossy, black obsidian rather than glimmering steel. “After one thousand years, we have returned,” he spoke. “The umbra are free to pledge the world into shadow and hatred once more!”

Shining Armor vaulted over the others, assuming a battle stance as he lowered his horn. “Not if we stop you!” he countered.

The larger umbrum looked at him disinterestedly. “Out of my way, whelp,” he growled, and Shining was blasted out of the way with a bolt of shadow magic. He hit the wall with an echoing crack and slid to the floor, his horn coated entirely with black crystal.

“Shiny!” Cadance shrieked, flying over, and Flurry Heart simply looked dumbstruck as she beheld her father defeated.

“Now, then. You are powerless to stop us. Even alicorns cannot best our might. Bow, my new subjects. Bow to Chief Tenebris!” the larger umbrum demanded.

“HEY!” Jeremy shouted, stepping forward himself.

Tenebris regarded him coolly, noticing his heart-shaped necklace glowing with pink magic. “Another Element of Love,” he noted. “How fitting, that you two should witness your own destruction.”

Jeremy growled. “And why do you have to? Couldn’t you just eradicate what remains of this world’s hatred instead of creating more?”

Tenebris snorted. “Your lack of foresight is almost as astonishing as your arrogance. Were we to do so, we would surely go extinct.”

Jeremy smiled. “What if there was a way you wouldn’t go extinct?” he hinted.

“Jeremy, what are you doing?” Sam hissed at him.

“Just work with me,” Jeremy whispered back.

“Oi! Stuff a sack in it, ya wannabe trickster!” an umbrum called out. Jeremy was about to protest this, but Sombra had gotten up, his expression disbelieving.

“…Dad?” he asked.

The umbrum who had spoken turned his head to glare at Sombra. “Ah wasn’t talkin’ ta ye, ya little bleedin’-heart prissy! Shut it, a’fore I come over there and shut it for ye!”

Sombra immediately fell silent, terrified, and Armor Flak returned his attention to Chief Tenebris. “Like ah was sayin’, Chief, this’n’s tryin’ ta trick ye inta’ starvin’ us!”

Tenebris raised his eyebrow. “A fact I had reached without your... interestingly accented input, Armor Flak. No sane being would offer an umbrum such a proposition. We are beings of destruction and despair, not lowlife bottomfeeders who search for the dregs of a dying emotion. We were always meant to rule,” Tenebris proclaimed.

“You are not ‘beings of destruction and despair’!” Jeremy argued.

“Oh, ye? Name one good thing an umbrum created! Name one ‘wholesome’ and ‘beautiful’ thing we’re responsible for in this entire bloody world!” Armor shot back.

Jeremy thought hard. “Well… what about Sombra?” he asked.

“Tha’ little disappointment?” Armor Flak asked, raising an eyebrow and glancing at the umbrum in question. “Wha’ bout him? ‘E hasn’t done anyone any favors. I train him ta’ break us out of our prison, and it takes him a thousand bloody years to even get close! I had to finish the job meself usin’ the hatred ye were tossin’ at him durin’ yer lame excuse for a trial!” Armor taunted, and the mare who had been prosecuting Sombra paled.

“Okay, but…” Jeremy tried, but was interrupted by Armor Flak.

“Ain’t no buts about it, kid! There ain’t a single productive bone in that umbrum’s body! Ah should know, ah raised him! Probably can’t even-“

“HE WROTE A SONG!” Jeremy thundered.

“…Come again?” Armor replied, lost, and Jeremy glanced away, embarrassed by his outburst.

“He wrote a song, and played it for me a… a long time ago. And it was beautiful. And he wrote it, all by himself!” Jeremy declared.

“A song?” Tenebris wondered, a hint of curiosity permeating his deep voice. “What is a song?”

Sombra cleared his throat. “It’s… er… a collection… of sounds. That together… sound pleasing.”

Tenebris raised an eyebrow. “An umbrum, creating something ‘pleasing’… Hm. Can you reproduce this ‘song’?”

Sombra glumly looked away. “I don’t have the instrument for it…” he reluctantly admitted.

“Wait!” Cadance called out, levitating something in her grasp. “Is this it?” Her magic deposited it in front of Sombra and Jeremy, and together they beheld Sombra’s instrument.

It had aged, that much was certain. A thousand years had not been kind to the casing, though the strings had been restored and the keys re-machined.

“It’s the same one,” Jeremy murmured, looking at it almost reverently.

“Jeremy… open the cage,” Sombra asked. Where this might normally have been a demand, Jeremy sensed a faint, plaintive note in Sombra’s voice – almost as if he, too, were reliving that memory.

He obediently crossed to the runestone-covered cage, finding curiously that the chains had no lock and easily opening it. Sombra stepped out onto the courtroom floor uncertainly, approaching his instrument as though it were a predator that might bite him.

“Well?” Tenebris demanded, and Armor Flak snorted.

“Ye, this’ll go well,” he loudly taunted. “Tha’ ‘music’ o’ yers is nuthin’ more than wishy-washy-“ but he was quelled by a glare from Tenebris.

“You, Armor Flak, will keep silent. I command absolute silence, so that I may better hear this ‘music’,” Tenebris announced.

Shakily, Sombra sat down, nearly trembling with fear. “Jeremy, I don’t think I can do this,” he hoarsely whispered, glancing around. Ponies and umbra alike gazed back at him, expressions ranging from curiosity to disgust.

“It’s okay, Sombra. It’ll be fine. Pretend… pretend you’re just playing to me. Just like old times,” Jeremy murmured comfortingly, taking a seat directly in front of him to block his view of the crowd.

Sombra swallowed. “Okay…” he whispered.

And Sombra began to play.

The piano keys sounded first, bright and cheerful, and were quickly accompanied by a more somber tune on the strings, giving the sound an almost surreal quality. The music drifted across the ruined courtyard, hauntingly beautiful and captivating the audience so thoroughly that you could have slapped an umbrum in the face and they wouldn’t have responded. As Sombra played, he too became lost in the melody, a slight smile coming to his face as his magic found the strings with a familiarity that could only be found between a composer and his melody.

Jeremy noted that they had reached the end of the song that Sombra had played for him some time ago, yet Sombra played on. Evidently, he had not given up on the musical piece, despite everything that had happened in the interim. Even Armor Flak could not escape the unrelenting notes, and he too was spellbound, slack-jawed and staring at Sombra.

Finally, the last few notes sounded out, fading into the air with an awful finality. For a moment, nobody knew what to say. In that moment, it felt that any sound emitted by one’s vocal chords would simply ruin the moment.

Tenebris was the first to break the silence.

“Th… that…” he stammered, evidently at a loss for words.

“Oh my Harmony…” Luna murmured, tears openly streaming down her face.

“That… you… that was…” Shining Armor stuttered.

“What? Was it good? I knew I should’ve gone for a better ending,” Sombra muttered.

“No, it was perfect as it was,” Jeremy complimented, smiling.

“You’re the Mystery Composer,” Cadance stated, with the air of someone who was trying to come to terms with what they had just learned. Murmurs of shock ran through the crowd, and Sombra turned to her.

“I’m sorry… I’m a what?” Sombra asked, confused.

Cadance’s magic lit up, and a sheaf of papers were teleported in. Jeremy and Sombra both glanced at them in shock – the familiar paper was yellowed and crinkled, but preserved perfectly in a magical stasis bubble.

“My notes…” Sombra noted.

“We discovered these outside the stasis field, just twenty years after the Crystal Empire was rediscovered. They’re the oldest musical notes in existence – indeed, most researchers suspect that these are the first musical notes ever written. Our entire system of sheet music was redefined based on this notation. And the author only ever signed with their initials,” Cadance explained, pointing to a hastily scrawled “S.F.” in one corner.

Sombra’s mouth quirked up in a smile. “That’s me… Sombra Flak.”

Cadance nodded. “You… you invented music. Not just that, your piece became the most well-known score of music in history. The ‘First Song’, written by the ‘Mystery Composer’. Researchers have spent lifetimes trying to pin down the pony who wrote it… because they gave us so much. They gave us music, songs, notation, rhythm… things that we could not live without.” And, to Sombra’s shock, Princess Cadance bowed. To his open astonishment, every single pony in attendance followed suit, genuflecting as much as they could. And all around, they were singing. The first four notes of his song, in perfect unison, was being sung by everypony in the Crystal Kingdom.

They glanced back at Tenebris, and to everyone’s shock, he was crying. Tears slowly dripped off of his chin, and he glanced down in confusion.

“How… how did you…” Tenebris tried again to speak, his eyes clenching shut to try and stem the flow of emotion.

Jeremy stepped forward. “You see? Umbra don’t have to be the scourge of the earth. You can help, instead of hurt, create instead of destroy,” Jeremy whispered.

Tenebris stared at him as though seeing him for the first time. “…If you were anyone else, Element of Love, I would have destroyed you in an instant. But you have done something I thought impossible. You have made a friend of one of my kind. You have inspired him to be more than what we were made to be. And for that… I shall listen,” Chief Tenebris decided.

Jeremy smiled, and bowed to the umbrum chief, putting as much heart as he could into it. “Thank you. So… my idea is…” he walked forward, whispering into Tenebris’ ear. Tenebris’ expression shifted, first to curiosity, then to incredulity… and finally to an eager smile.

“That just may work…” he agreed.

Jeremy nodded. “And I know just the mare to do it,” he noted. He beckoned for Celestia to come join them. She did so, curiously and fearfully glancing up at Tenebris.

“Can you open a portal to Earth for us?” Jeremy asked.

“Why… Oh, Jeremy, you can’t be serious,” Celestia realized.

Jeremy nodded insistently. “I’m very serious. Think about it! They’d be doing the entire world a service by draining our hatred. They’d be heroes.”

Celestia sighed. “I… very well. If you trust them to their word, then I cannot question your judgment.” She lit her horn, and a swirling yellow wormhole opened before them. Times Square was visible, and Jeremy looked on with just a hint of homesickness as humans milled thousands of feet beneath them, apparently not noticing the hole in reality so far above their heads.

“Jeremy, you claim you are of the race of humans. But I see a crown of changeling make upon your head… Who are you? What are you?” Tenebris wondered.

Jeremy smiled. “I’m the King of the Hive… and I’m here to finally make things right.”

Tenebris gazed at him curiously for a moment more, then smiled back, a genuine smile. “Before we depart, let us leave you with one last gift,” he announced, and lit his horn. A black-purple, smoky substance suddenly began emitting from the assorted ponies’ horns and bodies, concentrating at Tenebris’ own horn. “Your irrational, compulsive hatreds have been erased. Live the rest of your lives with love and prosperity, Crystal Ponies. May we meet again, on a better day,” Tenebris finished. That done, he approached Sombra, who regarded him with some fear. “Sombra, I hereby instate you as Lord and Advisor to all umbra… replacing the position of your erstwhile father,” the umbrum chief declared.

“M-me?” Sombra asked, sounding as though he hardly dared believe it.

“Wha – ya can’t do that!” Armor objected. Tenebris looked over at him, and Armor Flak immediately quailed under the intensity of his gaze. “Ah mean… ya can… but… uh…” Armor Flak trailed off.

“Go,” Tenebris commanded, pointing at the portal, and Armor Flak fled the scene. “Do not worry, Jeremy. I shall keep him in line. Sombra… will you come with us? There is so much I can teach you of our ways,” Tenebris offered. Everyone present knew that it wasn’t so much a request as it was a demand. And yet, Sombra bowed low.

“My chief… I thank you deeply for the offer. But… I must decline. As much as I have to learn of umbrum culture… I would like to complete my studies of friendship and love first.”

Tenebris appeared taken aback by the refusal, but then grinned. “Finally, an umbrum with a spine… oh, I think I shall enjoy having you as an advisor. Very well, Sombra Flak. Until we meet again.” With that, Tenebris departed through the portal, the rest of the umbra quickly following. Jeremy and Celestia watched them go, the latter lighting her horn again and closing the wormhole once the last trace of inky smoke had vanished.

“I hope they’ll be alright. There’s no magic in our world…” Jeremy trailed off.

“They’ll be fine,” Celestia reassured him, smiling slightly.

Princess Cadance approached Sombra tentatively. “Sombra… I have one last question, and you don’t have to answer it if you don’t want to,” she began.

“Go ahead,” Sombra politely replied.

“You could have had everything you wanted over there – power, fame, an endless supply of food. Why… did you stay?” Cadance asked.

Sombra looked at Jeremy, who smiled back – both of them knew the answer already.

“Some things… are worth staying for,” Sombra finally answered.

Chapter 13

The courtroom was adjourned, any semblance of court proceedings having long since vanished into the aether. Sombra was besieged by ponies once more – but this time, with musical requests instead of pitchforks. Jeremy watched as young colts and fillies begged to hear his composition again, and again, and Sombra happily obliged each time, smiling as he entranced his audiences time and time again. Kylie and Pinkie busied themselves with providing refreshments for those that had stayed to listen a little too long, and the others simply stayed to watch for the whole thing, Jeremy closing his eyes and letting the music wash over him again, and again.

The night grew long, and finally the last few stragglers had to leave for the safety and warmth of their homes. As soon as the last one had disappeared, Sombra made his way over to Princess Cadance, who had returned after putting Flurry Heart to bed.

“Princess Cadance, may I ask a question?” he inquired.

“You just did, so the answer’s yes,” Cadance laughed.

“Where, exactly, did you find this particular instrument?” Sombra asked, a slight pleading smile gracing his features as he waited expectantly.

Cadance brightened, understanding immediately. “It was found in a very old, run-down house, just outside our borders. Researchers cleared it out after the Mystery Composer’s… er, your original notes, were found there, so it’s been well taken-care of.”

Sombra looked at Jeremy, who smiled knowingly back. “…Can we visit?” he asked.

Cadance nodded, giggling slightly. “Of course you can visit! It’s your house, Sombra. Well, technically it’s the Crystal Kingdom’s property, but I don’t mind giving you the deed back.”

Sombra chuckled. “Thank you. Erm… I don’t really know where it is, after all this time… can you lead me there?”

Cadance politely nodded, turning to make for the edge of the city before turning around in thought. “Though, if you’re going out into the blizzard this late, you’ll need an accompaniment,” she noted.

As though summoned to her side, Shining Armor and two Crystal Guards appeared, and Sombra flinched back. “Right…” he trailed off.

One of the Guards sighed. “Hey…” he greeted Sombra.

“Hi…” Sombra returned uncertainly.

“So… you’re the Mystery Composer, huh?” the Guard asked awkwardly.

“It would appear so…” Sombra confirmed, looking anywhere and everywhere but at the Guard he was speaking to.

They sat there in silence for a moment, continuing to not look at each other.

“Um…” Jeremy trailed off.

“Right, right! Time to get going,” Sombra commanded, heading in the direction of the magical barrier.

The tundra was beautiful at night. The wind had died down, revealing an endless expanse of white that glistened almost as much as the stars overhead. The moon shone down upon the six of them, casting an expanse of shadows and lending an air of mystery to the snowscape. Jeremy was once again wearing Cory’s coat, while the Guard next to him and Shining wore particularly thick sets of armor. Chrysalis, Sombra and Cadance wore nothing at all to insulate them from the bitter cold, though Jeremy suspected Chrysalis at least was using a warming spell.

“This used to be fields of wheat and corn. What… what happened?” Sombra asked Cadance, looking around.

“Your spell did this,” she answered sadly. “In addition to putting the Crystal Kingdom in stasis for a thousand years, it locked an entire third of the continent in an eternal winter.”

Sombra lowered his head. “I suppose that is what happens, when one makes a deal with the Windigo,” he muttered.

“They’re sapient? I thought they were just angry wind spirits,” Chrysalis noted.

Sombra snorted in amusement. “Oh, they’re sapient all right, and very devious. They promised me that in case anything went wrong with my conquest, I could shatter a certain crystal they gave me and the whole kingdom would go into stasis for a thousand years, so that I could surprise my foes when next I appeared. At the time, I figured that Windigo and umbra were similar enough in diet and nature that we would share similar goals. What a fool I was to trust them,” Sombra muttered.

“Are they still here? If I recall, the presence of neverending winter indicates that they’re around somewhere,” Jeremy noted.

“Could they be trapped just like the umbra?” Princess Cadance wondered.

Sombra paused in thought. “There’s an idea. Should we free them too?” he asked Jeremy.

Jeremy waved his hand in a so-so motion. “…Probably? They’d definitely help the efforts on Earth. Convincing them might be a bit harder, though, if they’re as cunning as you say.”

Cadance hummed ponderously. “Maybe we could… no, that wouldn’t work,” she muttered.

“What would they want from us? A good enough deal might persuade them,” Chrysalis remarked.

“Freedom is the first thing that comes to mind, although that usually results in them betraying us once they’re actually free. Wouldn’t Windigo want this, anyway? An endless, frozen, emotionless expanse?” Jeremy wondered, gesturing.

“If so, we could always shoot them into space,” Sombra joked.

Cadance snorted. “I think they’d be rather upset by that,” she commented.

“Plus, it’s not always cold in space. Just most of the time. If you get too close to a star, or get too much cosmic radiation on you, things can get very hot,” Jeremy added.

“How do you know?” Cadance asked, raising an eyebrow, and Jeremy laughed.

“Humans have been to space a lot recently. We didn’t use any magic, so we had to spend years making absolutely sure we knew what we were dealing with.”

Shining looked at him, incredulous. “Now you’re just pulling my leg. Humans have been into space?”

Jeremy chuckled, amused by Shining’s expression of blatant disbelief. “Yeah, I can show you when we get back! We currently have the equivalent of a mobile research lab floating around the planet called the International Space Station, and we’ve visited our Moon a couple of times. According to NASA, we’re not far off from being able to mine asteroids for precious metals and stuff.”

Cadance looked confused. “NASA?” she asked.

“National Aeronautics and Space Administration. I worked there once, as an intern,” Jeremy explained, and her expression cleared.

“Oh, I see. Humans must be wonderfully inventive, to be able to reach space!”

Jeremy considered this, snorting. “I suppose so. We had a few… accidents along the way, though. Space travel’s dangerous.”

Sombra rolled his eyes. “Can’t imagine why,” he snarked, and Jeremy laughed.

As they reached a particularly flat area, Cadance stopped, surveying the patch of snow before them. As far as Jeremy could see, it was exactly like every other patch of snow.

“Are we… here?” Sombra asked.

“Yes… I just have to clear all the snow off,” Cadance explained. She lit her horn, and a pile of snow the size of a city block lifted off of the tundra before them, dumping itself to the side. Jeremy looked down at the thirty-foot-deep hole, perplexed.

“Wait. If the snow’s that thick, then how come we were standing on level ground back in the Crystal Kingdom?” he asked.

Cadance giggled. “The Crystal Kingdom’s actually on a plateau. Our researchers theorize that because of the stasis, it was pushed upward by tectonic plate action.”

Jeremy raised an eyebrow, interested, but decided to shelve that particular discussion for later. “So… wow, this place… aged really gracefully for a thousand years,” Jeremy noted, looking down at Sombra’s house.

“Preserved by the temperature, probably,” Sombra murmured.

The wood of the house was pristine, if freezing, and the front door even still had ‘FLAK’ chiseled into it. The forge that Sombra and his father had spent so much time at was unlit, frozen coals scattered carelessly around the floor. Tools and hammers were stacked haphazardly in different compartments of a box, and Jeremy recognized some of these as the same ones that Sombra had used to fight him in the umbrum’s memory back in Tartarus.

They flew down, and Chrysalis, Cadance, and the accompanying Guard examined the house. The Guard actually took off his helmet, and Jeremy looked at him curiously, surprised to find a lone tear was making its way down his crystalline orange face.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

The Guard looked over. “This place is sacred to musicians, and… well, I am a musician,” he explained. “No matter where we really came from… here, we were born.”

Sombra blushed and looked away, surging ahead of them as he approached the door to his home. “It’s so cold…” he noted.

“Maybe we can get a fire going?” Jeremy wondered, ducking in through the door after him.

“It’s kind of cozy in here, once you get past the whole ‘freezing’ thing,” Chrysalis noted.

Jeremy looked around at the interior of Sombra’s house, a thousand years later. He couldn’t imagine how Sombra must be feeling – a millennium had passed since he’d seen this place last, and here he was rediscovering it. Jeremy briefly tried to put himself into Sombra’s shoes, imagining himself discovering his own house, centuries and centuries after he had lived in it. He felt… a vague sense of unfamiliarity, as though even though he were standing in his own house, it wasn’t his home anymore…

He was startled out of his reverie when Cadance kicked at something on the floor. “Huh?” she noted, leaning down to look at it.

“D-don’t look at that!” Sombra cried, yanking it away from her with his magic. Startled, Cadance leaned back, blinking. “But it was only a stuffed bear,” she replied, bemused.

Sombra blushed furiously. “Y…yes… only a stuffed bear. That’s all.”

Jeremy gave him a knowing look. “You know, I had something similar when I was a little kid. Only it was a stuffed lynx, instead of a bear. I called him Lynx Kitten, and he was my favorite,” Jeremy began.

“So did I! Mine was a tiger, though!” Cadance added.

“Mine was a bear too,” Shining chuckled.

“My mom got me a spider,” the Guard accompanying them offered. All of them stopped to look at him strangely. “What? It was a cute spider,” he defended.

“…Anyway, lots of us had a stuffed animal growing up, it’s perfectly normal,” Jeremy explained.

“Really? Oh… I never had anyone else to tell me,” Sombra mused, embarrassed.

“Didn’t you have any friends growing up?” Jeremy asked.

Sombra shook his head. “The only ponies I knew were my parents and other nobles.”

Cadance gave him a sympathetic frown. “All you knew was nobility… no wonder you never knew love,” she murmured.

Sombra rolled his eyes. “Yes, yes, I’m a sociopath, I know.”

Cadance immediately looked sorry she’d spoken. “Not like that! I meant… oh, I didn’t mean it like that,” she apologized.

They got a fire going, and Chrysalis immediately laid down directly in front of it, blocking off the others as she stretched to absorb as much heat as possible.

“Hey!” Shining complained.

“What? I need more body heat than you do, I used a lot of magic on the way here,” Chrysalis explained.

“Well… the rest of us need warmth too!” Shining retorted.

“Sombra, got a blanket?” Jeremy asked.

“Sure, one moment,” Sombra answered, rummaging through a few frozen cabinets. He finally returned with a folded blanket that was stiff as a board, tossing it over in front of Chrysalis. It landed with a clatter, causing everyone nearby to wince.

“…Maybe something that isn’t frozen solid, Sombra?” Chrysalis asked.

“We can just thaw it out by the fire. Then we'll all be warm,” Jeremy answered, placing it gently near the fire. It thawed quickly, surprisingly as dry as the rest of the room despite having been frozen. That done, Jeremy laid Chrysalis down on the blanket, rolling her up like a burrito before picking her up again and cuddling her close. “Warmer yet?” he asked.

“Very,” Chrysalis answered, snuggling into his chest and sighing in satisfaction.

“Aww,” Cadance and Shining Armor cooed at the sight.

“What is this ‘blanket’, anyway? It’s very warm, much more so than a ‘bedsheet,’” Chrysalis asked.

“Thicker fabric, but same idea,” Jeremy explained.

“You’ve never seen a blanket before?” Shining asked.

Chrysalis shrugged. “We never needed one before. When changelings needed to keep themselves warm, they simply cocooned themselves.”

Sombra brought more blankets for the rest, and they set about wrapping themselves up in front of the fire.

“How’s Flurry Heart?” Jeremy asked.

Cadance started forward, a guilty expression on her face, but sat back relieved a moment later. “She’s asleep, the nursemaids are watching over her. Also, don’t do that! I worry enough as it is,” Cadance complained.

Jeremy chuckled. “Sorry,” he apologized. “Anyway, we might as well sleep here, if nobody needs to go back for anything – it’s what, midnight?” he asked a moment later.

The Guard accompanying them pulled out a small pocketwatch. “Three minutes past, yes,” he answered.

“Cool,” Jeremy replied, laying down and closing his eyes.

An hour passed before anyone spoke again. Sombra had joined the makeshift slumber party, eyes closed and surprisingly murmuring instead of his usual loud snoring.

“Chrysalis?” Shining Armor whispered.

“Yes, Shining?” Chrysalis whispered back.

“Why did you mind-control me? I mean, I understand you wanted food for your kind, and had to conquer the city because of... your orders. But… why me? And why our wedding?” Shining asked.

Chrysalis sighed, closing her eyes again as the fire crackled.

“…Chrysalis?” Shining asked again after a moment.

“I… I wanted to see what it was like,” she murmured.

“What what was like?” Shining whispered curiously.

“Love. Real love, someone who loved me, not just… gave love to me. Cadance, the Princess of Love, the supposed final say on romance… she thought you were good enough for her. She loved you… loves you with all her heart, and… I wanted to find out why. I thought, maybe, that marriage was something that would help me understand, so… I decided to take her place and make you marry me instead. But… I knew I wasn’t that good of an actor. You’d surely catch on eventually, so…” Chrysalis trailed off.

“…I see…” Shining replied softly, when nothing else was forthcoming. “We didn’t… do anything while I was… under your spell… did we?” he asked nervously, tail flicking against the wooden floor.

“Do anything? What do you mean?” Chrysalis asked, confused. She stiffened as Jeremy sent her a few thoughts, and blushed. “N-no! Nothing like that, I’d never-!”

Shining fell back, relieved. “Oh, thank goodness. I was trying to save myself for Cadance, and… even though she said that the thought was what counted…” he trailed off, sighing.

“I don’t think Chrysalis even could do that, after what she’s been through,” Jeremy murmured to him.

“Fair…” Shining agreed.

Sometime during the night, Jeremy slowly awoke, feeling a distinct lack of warmth on his stomach. He looked around blearily, and Chrysalis was nowhere to be found.

“Chrysalis?” he whispered.

Cadance and Shining Armor were asleep, and the Crystal Guard who was watching them was evidently dozing off as well. Sombra’s room was still closed. Chrysalis was not in the room, but he felt her presence nearby. Groaning, he got up, shaking himself awake before stumbling outside to find her.

Chrysalis was just outside the door, to his surprise, using the light of a torch to read a book. As Jeremy looked over her shoulder, he noticed it was the same book they had taken from the library yesterday – “On the Origines of Ponie-Like Species”.

“Heya,” he whispered, and Chrysalis looked up at him.

“Read this,” she muttered, thrusting the book into his hands without another word.

Confused, Jeremy took it, examining the page she had been reading. The illustration on the page was that of a changeling and an umbrum, snarling at each other… but the changeling was colorful and ‘healed’, just like Thorax and Chrysalis were now. “What…?” Jeremy began.

“Read it!” Chrysalis insisted.

Jeremy gave her a very concerned look, but obediently began to read.

“Long ago, three great nations ruled the continent of Pacem in peace. To the east were the changelings, those great bringers of love and harmony who could take the form of whatever they chose. To the west, the umbra lived, and stole away the hatred that others exhibited. And to the north, the Windigo ruled, eliminating fear and distrust from the land. Though many, many species called Pacem their home, these three tribes were the rulers, for they and they alone ensured the peace was everlasting and absolute. No dispute could not be resolved by a group of three of them, which was then referred to as a tres pacificae, or Peaceful Three. These groups of tres pacificae served as a form of Royal Guard for the land, ensuring conflicts did not escalate.”

“But something went wrong. One day, changelings and umbra found they simply could not get along anymore. Though they agreed that love should rule over fear, they disagreed with the methods of the other tribe.”

“The tension brewed, and before long war had broken out between changelings and umbra. The Windigo, serving as a neutral third party, helped to evacuate those citizens that would otherwise be caught up in the fighting. According to the histories unearthed by my archaeological expeditions, it was the most terrifying time in Pacem’s history. Nopony knew who to trust, who to side with. But everypony knew that the centuries of spreading love had made the changelings far, far stronger than the umbra.”

“The changelings, fueled by determination and led by Queen Diligita, won the war and sealed all the umbra underground, never to see the light of day again. Why Diligita chose this course of action is uncertain, as apparently up until her victory she had promised to destroy every umbrum in existence. It is surmised that her daughter may have persuaded her off of this dangerous course, though without historical records this is impossible to know for certain. Whatever her reasoning, it is apparent that those citizens that remained were surprised and overjoyed by this act of mercy, however small.”

“But, once again, something went wrong. Whether the umbra had planned it or not, Diligita’s Hive exploded the day after the umbra were sealed, presumably killing every changeling in existence and ensuring a post-war victory for the umbra. But the umbra were still sealed away, and they could not enjoy the fruits of their plot. The balance had been erased: Two of the three species who had once ensured peace and love for all had been eliminated.”

“Those few survivors of that time, the same citizens who had lived through the conflict and had evacuated to the north with the Windigo, refused to give an account of their time there, whether written, oral or otherwise. Most fled the country to seek life elsewhere, now that their precious lives and homes had been destroyed so thoroughly by the war between the two races. The only thing known for sure from that point onward was that the Windigo, the last recorded species on the continent for a period of several centuries, spread throughout the land, converting what was once a lush and wonderful land to a place barren, frigid and nearly devoid of life as they struggled to survive.”

“What happened next is best told in the following section,” Jeremy finished, at a loss for words from what he had just read. He flipped the page, and Chrysalis cringed.

“Equestria: The Beginning,” Jeremy read, shocked. “Clover the Clever… arrived… in… wait. Pacem was Equestria?” he queried, shocked.

“We destroyed the civilization of an entire continent,” Chrysalis mumbled, evidently still horrified. “We’re exactly the monsters Sombra made us out to be.”

Jeremy narrowed his eyes. “Hold that thought, dear. Something’s not right here,” he decided, flipping back a few pages.

“What do you mean?” Chrysalis asked.

“This war apparently broke out for no reason. Star Swirl couldn’t find the cause, and what evidence exists suggests that up until that exact point, changelings and umbra worked together extremely well,” he posited. Chrysalis nodded. “Now, we both sat through the talk on humans, so you know this too. What’s the first thing anyone says about a war while it’s going on, or even afterward?” he asked.

“The justification,” Chrysalis realized.

“Yeah. There’s always a reason, even if it’s a stupid one or a lie told to the public. For Star Swirl to have found nothing about why this war was happening suggests that it wasn’t a normal war. Groups don’t just randomly decide to fight each other, it’s always about some kind of gain.” He flipped forward a few more pages. “And then there’s this section. ‘The Windigo, serving as a neutral third party, helped to evacuate those citizens that would otherwise be caught up in the fighting. According to the histories unearthed by my archaeological expeditions, it was the most terrifying time in Pacem’s history. Nopony knew who to trust, who to side with.’ Now, I’m normally not one to believe in conspiracy theories. But isn’t there something a little strange about the Windigo reacting so suddenly to the war, evacuating all citizens into their territory, and remaining a completely neutral third party?”

Chrysalis’ jaw dropped. “You don’t think…” she trailed off, and Jeremy nodded.

“I think they started the war on purpose,” he declared. “They feed on fear and mistrust, and there’s no better time for mistrust than a continent-wide civil war. It might have been due to starvation, it might have been for political gain… but I bet the Windigo were behind all of that. They might even have been behind Diligita’s Hive exploding – if the entire goal was to ensure both changelings and umbra were taken out, thus leaving Windigo on top, they would have wanted to ensure no survivors.”

Chrysalis reeled at this. “Then… we’re not monsters…?” she whispered.

Jeremy shook his head. “I have no idea if we are or not. Nobody has any account of what political opinions were being said at the time of the war, apparently, so it’s impossible to know just yet. What we do know is that if the Windigo hadn’t intervened, the changelings would have likely not started the war.”

Chrysalis swallowed. “Okay… I think that makes sense… but… what do we do now?” she asked, sounding lost.

“We have a hypothesis, now we look for evidence. If all of this took place in Equestria, there had to have been towns, cities, whole cultures that have been buried beneath the sands of time. If we can continue Star Swirl’s work, we might just be able to find the answers. And… forgive me if this is a stretch, but I think there may have been a survivor of Diligita’s Hive,” Jeremy remarked.

“Who?” Chrysalis asked.

“Hespera. According to our earliest accounts, she awoke in a cave with no memory of anything that had happened before. And before you say that she was created there by that strange mutagenic substance, I’ve always been confused about this. Every time the story of Hespera is told, it’s always mentioned that she was able to walk very soon after she awoke. She explored the cave, found the pool, et cetera,” Jeremy noted. “But our little wigglers take at least a year or two to move around even in their larval forms. So how did Hespera know how to walk from birth, and that information didn’t get passed down to the next generation?”

Chrysalis looked, if that were possible, even more shocked. “Because she’d already passed the larval stage,” she whispered.

Jeremy held up his hands. “Like I said, just a theory. I’m not going to go questioning your histories just yet, we need more information to be sure of any of that. The story of changelings’ origins could still be true, just placed… a little farther back in time. And it said changelings lived to the east of Pacem, but our Hive is very far to the south. Hespera might have been taken to that sacred place during the war, as a way of ensuring that the changelings would survive in case Diligita lost,” Jeremy explained.

“But if all the other changelings in the Hive died, they would have been stored in the hivemind,” Chrysalis reminded him.

“Yeah… I dunno about that. Maybe the hivemind didn’t exist back then? Like I said, we’ll need to find more evidence,” Jeremy sighed.

Chrysalis doused the torch they had been using to read. “I… I need to sleep,” she decided.

“Same. Come on, honey. Let’s figure this out… tomorrow,” Jeremy cajoled.

“Okay…” Chrysalis softly agreed. He carried her inside, and wrapped the two of them up in the blanket, where they cuddled together.

“Hey. No matter what we find out about changelings, just know that I will always believe in you, okay?” Jeremy whispered.

Chrysalis kissed his chest, smiling up at him. “No matter what we were before… I’ll be good,” she replied, and Jeremy beamed down at her.

Chapter 14

Jeremy awoke, unsure when he had gone to sleep. The cabin was warm and cozy now, even though the fire had died down to embers over the course of the night. Chrysalis was murmuring in her sleep, legs kicking gently and occasionally nudging him. Jeremy smooched her on the nose, just to see her reaction, and was rewarded with a tiny smile from his changeling queen.

“Good morning, Jeremy!” Cadance whispered from his left, and he rolled over to find her and Shining Armor up already.

“You two slept in for quite a while, it’s already ten in the morning,” Shining laughed.

Jeremy shrugged. “What can I say? I enjoy sleeping in,” he answered, sitting up and blearily rubbing his eyes.

Chrysalis was pulled into sitting up as well, still securely wrapped in her blanket as she slowly awoke. “Morning already?” she grumbled, and Jeremy laughed.

“Seconded,” he agreed, gently unwrapping her from the blanket. Chrysalis winced as the colder air hit her carapace, and Shining chuckled. “So, where’s Sombra?” Jeremy asked, looking around. The umbrum was nowhere in sight, his blanket long abandoned.

“Let me show you,” Cadance whispered, suddenly secretive. She tip-toed over to the hallway, where she peeked down before signaling for him to follow her. Curious, Jeremy quietly followed her as she creaked open the door, where he found Sombra curled up in his childhood bed, his teddy bear securely in his hooves as he slept. Cadance closed the door, and they silently made it back to the living room before Jeremy and Cadance both burst into giggles.

“Is he always this cute?” Cadance asked.

Jeremy shook his head. “Normally, Sombra snores like a freight train. I think this house is just… cathartic for him, I guess.”

They lounged around in silence, unsure of what else to do before Sombra woke up. The guard that had accompanied them stayed by the door, armor on and spear hanging loosely at his side as he glanced out the door every now and then. After a moment of awkward silence, Shining’s stomach growled, and Cadance chuckled.

“Sorry, baby, even I can’t teleport food out this far,” she sighed.

“I can,” Chrysalis offered, and a few apples appeared in front of them as she lit her horn green to demonstrate.

“Wait, how?” Shining asked, and Cadance clearly looked impressed.

Chrysalis rolled her eyes, grinning at Jeremy. “The more love I consume, the stronger I become. And considering an Element of Love is my special somehuman…” she playfully flicked her tail at Jeremy, who just as playfully flicked it back.

“Special someone, dear,” he corrected.

“Whatever. Point is, I have more magic in me than I ever did before, even when I was invading,” Chrysalis explained. Shining and Cadance looked at each other, slightly nervous.

“Oh, knock it off, you two, it’s not like she’s going to use it for anything harmful,” Jeremy chided.

“Right, yeah, we’re sorry. Old habits, and all that…” Cadance trailed off.

“If I’d wanted to use this magic to overpower any of you, I’d have already done so. There would be no tactical advantage in holding out for this long, nor would telling you about any of it help in any way,” Chrysalis reminded them. If anything, this made the pair of ponies more nervous still, and Chrysalis turned to Jeremy. “Was that… wrong? I was just trying to explain to them…” she muttered, frustrated.

Jeremy sighed. “What she’s trying to say is that you don’t have to worry, she’s very clearly on our side now, and has no intentions of betraying anybody. Tactical arguments aside… she’s a better changeling than that now,” he continued, pausing a moment to smile at her.

“We know… but… I don’t think we’ll ever forget what she did,” Cadance sighed. Chrysalis and Jeremy both remained silent, unsure of what to say to this.

“You’re not supposed to forget,” a gruff voice greeted them from behind, and Jeremy and Chrysalis whirled around to see Sombra, looking sleepy. “You’re supposed to remember, and forgive, and move on. Isn’t that what you told me?” he asked Jeremy.

Taken by surprise, Jeremy took a moment before he chuckled and nodded. “So it is. Guess I’m just off my game today, huh? Anyway… Morning, Sombra. How’d you sleep?” he asked curiously.

Sombra grinned. “Better than I have in a very long time. You?” he returned.

Jeremy beamed. “I haven’t slept in front of a fireplace in quite a while. Gotta say, it’s very refreshing,” he commented.

“Agreed. Anyway… I’d offer you lot breakfast, but I’d be very surprised if any food remained in this place after a thousand years, frozen or not. Should we head back?” he asked.

“Are you really so anxious to leave? It is your home…” Jeremy pointed out.

Sombra shrugged. “More like ‘was,’ at this point. Besides, Canterlot’s beds are far more comfortable.”

Shining laughed agreeably. “Even the guard barracks there are pegasus down,” he reminisced.

“Anyway, I can teleport food here,” Chrysalis offered, bringing them back to the start of the conversation. “Anything in particular you would like?”

Shining thought for a moment. “Are they serving hay bacon today? I could really go for some hay bacon,” he requested. Chrysalis closed her eyes, horn alight as she concentrated. A moment later, a freshly made plate of hay bacon appeared in front of Shining, whose eyes lit up with delight as he immediately chowed down.

“Shining!” Cadance scolded. “Manners!”

Shining laughed. “Why?” he replied, mouth still full of hay bacon. “We’re not in noble company, we can let loose a little.” Cadance looked at the guard by the door, who was surreptitiously whistling and distinctly looking away.

“Hey, you hungry?” Jeremy called out, and he looked over.

“What? No, don’t mind me. I’ll be fine,” the guard denied.

“Come on, we’re all having breakfast,” Jeremy insisted. The Guard looked at Shining, but he was too busy stuffing his face to notice. He turned his gaze to Cadance, who nodded. Hesitantly, the Guard took a seat in the circle.

“Sombra? What would you like?” Chrysalis asked.

Sombra looked faintly queasy. “If it’s all the same… I think I will actually skip breakfast. I kind of… overate last night…” he admitted. Jeremy stared at him for a moment, remembering the wild ride of events that had happened the previous day.

“Alright, fair enough,” he decided.

“Cadance?” Chrysalis continued.

“Um… just some more apples for me,” Cadance shyly decided.

“Aw, come on, honey!” Shining protested. “Nobody here’s going to judge!”

Cadance looked around guiltily, then seemingly made her choice. “Do they have that one style of chocolate pancakes where there’s chocolate chips in it but also chocolate in the pancake batter?” she whispered, leaning in towards Chrysalis.

The changeling queen raised an eyebrow, but said nothing, and a moment later some extremely chocolate-saturated pancakes appeared, complete with chocolate syrup. Cadance immediately levitated a piece, forgoing all manners as she bit into it with a nearly feral intensity. Jeremy, watching the pair of crystal royalty digging into food like it was their last day alive, fought hard to keep from laughing.

“Let me guess: These are your schadenfreude?” he asked, smirking at them.

Cadance, who had just managed to swallow, laughed. “Yeah… this is what we eat when we aren’t being judged,” she admitted. The guard that had accompanied them was watching the pair of them eat, jaw dropped and eyes the size of dinner plates. Jeremy raised an eyebrow at him, and he hurriedly composed himself.

“Uh… hay bacon?” he asked, eyeing Cadance’s plate almost enviously. He actually wants the chocolate pancake, but is scared of saying so, Chrysalis commented mentally.

I have an idea, Jeremy replied, and Chrysalis smiled as she lit her horn. Both hay bacon and chocolate pancakes appeared on a massive plate in the center of them.

“Why not? Hay bacon and chocolate pancakes for everyone,” Chrysalis announced.

Jeremy snorted in amusement. “Best political pitch I’ve heard all year,” he quipped as he picked up a piece of hay bacon curiously.

“Can humans eat hay? I thought the other humans said they couldn’t,” Shining noted.

Jeremy shrugged. “It won’t do anything bad to us, but we can’t digest it very well. So… I guess I have no choice but to take the chocolate pancakes,” he dramatically announced, swooning as though he’d proclaimed something horrendous. Everyone laughed appreciatively, and Jeremy grinned as he dug into his incredibly unhealthy breakfast.

As they finished off the last of the massive plate, Jeremy lay back with a satisfied grunt, mouth stained with chocolate.

“Honey, you’ve got something on your face,” Chrysalis remarked.

Jeremy, who had closed his eyes, merely chuckled quietly. His eyes flew open a moment later as he felt a wet, raspy something moving across his face – Chrysalis had begun to lick him clean.

“Oh my,” Princess Cadance commented, watching.

“Whah?” Chrysalis asked, tongue still out as she looked at Cadance in confusion.

“That’s considered a ‘sexy’ or ‘intimate’ thing to do with your partner,” Jeremy explained, and Chrysalis turned to look at him, evidently still confused.

“But I was just… being polite…?” she replied, perplexed.

Jeremy shrugged. “Romance sure is weird sometimes,” was his only response.

“You really don’t know anything about how relationships work, do you?” Shining commented curiously. Jeremy shot him a look, and Shining quickly backpedaled. “N-not to say that there’s anything wrong with that, it’s just… unusual and I’ll shut up now,” he mumbled as Cadance and Chrysalis joined in on the glaring.

“… I really don’t…” Chrysalis sighed. “Me, a changeling who barely even knows how not to be evil, being part of the Element of Love. What a joke.”

Jeremy looked at her sternly. “Hey, I’m hardly better off. You think I had many romances before this? Because I most certainly did not. Being the Element of Love doesn’t mean you have to be instantly perfect at romance,” he reassured firmly.

“At least you have a general idea of what to do!” Chrysalis retorted.

“Hey, whoa, I didn’t mean to start something between you two,” Shining attempted to defuse, glancing worriedly between the two of them.

“For all I know, I’m doing it completely wrong,” Jeremy replied exasperatedly, ignoring Shining. “Love isn’t about following a strict set of rules or a checklist of things you have to do, it’s about having fun with someone you care about. And I’ve been having fun with you! Even if we don’t do the ‘normal’ romantic stuff like dates or whatever, who cares?”

Chrysalis looked away. “I care,” she said quietly. “I’ve always wanted to do that stuff, even if it isn’t the ‘true meaning of love,’ it’s just… I never got to experience it when I was younger!” she cried, tears streaming down her face. “He took so much from me, and I want to take it back!”

Jeremy looked distraught, and the others watched on in silence. “Hey… I… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. I just… I meant… look. If you want to go on dates and stuff, we can. Maybe… we could start out at a fancy restaurant? Or a movie? That’s what humans do, usually…” he trailed off, hoping that meager olive branch would be enough to stop her from crying any more.

“I… I would like that… Sorry… I don’t want to make you do stuff…” Chrysalis admitted, glaring at the floor.

“Hey, forget what I said earlier. I don’t really care about the true meaning of love, or being the Element of Love. I care about making you happy, and that’s it,” Jeremy replied, holding his arms out for a hug.

Chrysalis seemed conflicted for a moment, but leaned into him, closing her eyes. “What’s a ‘movie’?” she asked quietly.

“It’s kind of like… a book, but with drawings. They move around on a screen, telling a story,” Jeremy explained.

“That sounds kind of nice… can we do that?” she asked.

“Sure. I don’t know what movies are popular around here, so… how about we go find out?” he offered.

Chrysalis smiled, sniffling a bit. “Sure,” she repeated.

There was a moment of awkward silence for the others as Jeremy held her close, rubbing her sides comfortingly until her hiccups and sniffles subsided. “Well… if it’s movies you want… I have a bunch of royal invites that I’m not going to use. What kind of stories do you like?” Shining offered.

“What kinds of stories are there?” Chrysalis asked.

“Action, romance, comedy, tragedy, horror…” Shining listed.

“Romance?” Chrysalis asked hopefully.

“I figured you might pick that one,” Shining laughed. “Let’s see… best one that’s in theaters right now is ‘A Mare and her Huntress.’ It’s about a pony-griffon romance from the perspective of the pony.”

Jeremy raised an eyebrow. “That sounds interesting,” he agreed.

“Do I have to dress up for a movie?” Chrysalis asked Jeremy.

He shook his head. “Not really, no. Movie theaters are about as informal as it gets.”

She paused in thought. “Is there any etiquette I should know about?” she asked.

Jeremy shrugged. “The only things I can think of is to be quiet while the movie’s playing, and not to make a mess. Be polite to your fellow moviegoers, in other words.” Chrysalis snorted in amusement.

They headed back out into the wintry air, where Jeremy promptly began shivering at the drop in temperature. “Are you alright?” Cadance asked, noticing him shaking.

“Humans aren’t built to withstand this kind of cold, which is why humans from northern climates like myself usually wear thicker clothing,” Jeremy explained. “Let me guess, your fur makes you nice and cozy?”

Shining shrugged. “It’s kind of chilly, I guess?”

Jeremy looked around at the frigid snowscape, the tufts and drifts of snow normally only seen during the height of winter on his planet. “…Right…” he muttered.

Chrysalis hummed in thought, and to Jeremy’s surprise, leaped up onto his back, alighting her horn. With a flash of green fire, she transformed into the same blanket that Sombra had given her to wrap herself up in, which fluttered down and draped onto Jeremy’s shoulders. By reflex, he pulled it over himself, already feeling the chill in his bones fade.

“Much better…” he sighed, arranging the blanket so that it was more of a traveling cloak.

“Does that happen often?” Shining asked, raising an eyebrow at the blanket that had formerly been Chrysalis.

Jeremy laughed. “Sure. She transformed herself into all manner of stuff back in Tartarus to help us out. She hasn’t transformed much after we got out, but it’s nice to see her using her skills to help others,” he explained.

Honey, don’t talk about me like I just left… Chrysalis complained mentally.

Whoops! Sorry. Still not entirely used to that. If I can’t see your face, I think I just kind of assume you’re not actually in the room… Jeremy replied sheepishly.

To be fair, no changeling has transformed around you since you took the throne. We’re all aware of those little thoughts you have, such as ‘what if I stepped on a rock but it was actually a changeling and I crushed them accidentally,’ so we try to make sure you’re comfortably aware of us, Chrysalis explained.

Incidentally… could I hurt a transformed changeling by accident? Jeremy asked nervously.

Chrysalis’ mental laughter echoed in his head. Of course not! Even when transforming into very fragile objects, changelings remain very durable. If you squashed a changeling-turned-fly against a wall, you’d find the fly was completely unharmed. We can also separate our form into multiple parts with enough training, though most are advised not to try as it is very disconcerting.

Jeremy raised an eyebrow. Wow. That’s… kind of incredible, actually. Just when I thought your shapeshifting couldn’t get any cooler, he complimented.

Aww, thanks, honey! Chrysalis sent back, the blanket wriggling a little.

They walked onward, trudging through the snow, and Jeremy became distinctly aware that his shoes and socks were now soaked in freezing water. He had ignored this for all of yesterday, because he’d been too concerned with Sombra, but now that he had been dried, warmed, and comforted, the feeling was unpleasant to say the least.

“So, Chrysalis and I read some more on the history of changelings,” Jeremy casually began, hoping to distract himself.

“…And?” Cadance asked after a pause.

“Turns out this continent was called ‘Pacem’ before Equestria was founded. There was a whole civilization living here, and changelings, windigo and umbra kept the peace by absorbing any negative emotions and spreading positive ones.”

Shining raised an eyebrow. “Oh yeah, I think that was in my history class somewhere,” he reminisced.

“So… neither Chrysalis nor I can remember that far back through the hivemind, and apparently changelings and umbra started a war. We were wondering… is there any museum or library we can visit to find out more about that?” Jeremy asked. Sombra was clearly paying attention as well.

“Yeah, the Crystal Library’s archives should have some relatively recent books on it,” Cadance answered after a pause for thought.

“…So… you really don’t… remember…?” Sombra asked.

Jeremy shook his head. “Nobody from that time is even in the hivemind, so either we didn’t even have a hivemind at that point or they underwent something much worse than death,” he explained.

“Oh… well… Armor Flak knew some of it. He told me… that one day, changelings had just suddenly decided to fight umbra. But from what he made it sound like, the umbra just as suddenly responded. So maybe he was lying, and there was fault on both sides?” Sombra questioned.

“Well, actually…” Jeremy began, and launched into the same theorizing he and Chrysalis had discussed last night. By the time he was done, all four of the other party members were staring at him.

“That… that might make sense, actually,” Cadance noted. “If the Windigo started the war, they would have had so much food that they could turn the whole continent cold for a thousand years, easily.”

Jeremy turned to her. “That reminds me, Cadance, weren’t you a survivor of the Crystal Empire? Do you know anything about this?”

Cadance thought for a moment, then shook her head. “My earliest memories were waking up in a very cold place, and traveling for days until I reached Canterlot. I defeated a love-stealing witch along the way – no relation, I assure you,” she nodded at the blanket that Chrysalis was currently disguised as. “Celestia happened to be visiting the town under the witch’s spell at the time, and saw me get my Cutie Mark. From there, she took me back to Canterlot, made me an alicorn, and raised me.”

Jeremy hummed. “A very cold place… like this?” he asked, gesturing to the frozen arctic tundra.

Cadance shook her head. “There were trees where I ended up. I’m really not sure where it is, I’ve tried to find it, but…” she looked away, and Shining put a comforting hoof on her withers.

“I see…” Jeremy murmured.

They arrived in the Crystal Empire, and Jeremy was surprised to see several changelings waiting for him. Judging by their expressions, these were more of Thorax’s changelings.

“Thorax wishes to see you… Your Majesties…” one muttered.

“Very well. Where is he?” Jeremy asked amicably, glad to be out of the cold. The changeling looked at him, apparently surprised that Jeremy wasn’t reacting to his hostility.

“…Right this way,” he answered, trotting off.

“We’ll meet up with you lot later,” Jeremy muttered to Cadance, Sombra and Shining, who looked as though they were about to protest.

The lime-green changeling led them through a series of winding crystal roads and alleyways. “Is Chrysalis going to undisguise at any point?” he shot at them after a while.

There was a flash of green fire, and Chrysalis landed on the crystal cobblestone of the road, hooves clacking loudly. “Certainly,” she answered, and began walking alongside them without another word.

If the changeling had been surprised by Jeremy’s attitude before, this was nothing compared to how he felt now: His jaw had dropped at the sight of Chrysalis openly ignoring his rudeness, and more astonishing still, following his suggestion. Without another word, he resumed walking.

A while later, they found Thorax’s home in a street that looked suspiciously like the one they had begun in. Chrysalis and Jeremy looked around, but said nothing, and the changeling that had been escorting them led them inside, still silent and now slightly nervous.

“S-sir Thorax? Chrysalis and the new King are here to speak with you,” the drone greeted, opening the door.

“Send them in!” Thorax called. They stepped inside, and Jeremy got his first look at Thorax.

He was… brawny, in an odd way. His bright green carapace looked large and heavy enough to put a dent in the crystal floor if he stomped a hoof, and his legs were much thicker and smoother than Chrysalis’. His shell was now a transparent, dark reddish-purple compared to the mirror-reflective teal it had once been. Most striking of all were the addition of a pair of reddish-brown antlers to his head, giving him the appearance of a particularly insectoid and colorful deer.

“Ever since I heard you escaped Tartarus… I’ve been waiting for you to visit,” he greeted.

“I’m not here to hurt you,” Chrysalis began, but Thorax held up a hoof.

“I know,” he interrupted. “I don’t want us to fight either. You’ve clearly learned the same things I have, Mom, and it’s time we put aside our differences for the good of our species.” Jeremy and Chrysalis raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised.

“That… is good to hear,” Jeremy answered, but Chrysalis’ eyes were more watery.

“Queen Chrysalis? Are you… okay…?” Thorax asked falteringly, noticing her teary expression.

“Even after all this… you still think I deserve to be called your ‘mother’?” she asked quietly.

Thorax sighed. “I do,” he admitted. “You’ve done some serious harm to us, your children. But… we children were not blameless, if what I have heard is true.”

Chrysalis looked away. “Only one child, I would think,” she softly replied.

“Even so… I’ve heard many good things from my brothers and sisters who remained with you. I can see now that they were all true… especially those that concerned our new human King,” Thorax noted, looking at Jeremy. Jeremy waved awkwardly, unsure of what to say. “I called you here because… well, I wished to ask if you wanted to reunite our two hives.”

Cries of shock and dismay arose from those changelings watching, but Thorax quelled them with a glance.

“I… I am unsure…” Chrysalis answered. She turned to Jeremy. “What do you think?”

Jeremy thought, looking around at the changelings watching. “I think… that that should be up to the individual changelings that have left,” he carefully answered. “We cannot force them to stay. But… whatever path they choose in life, our children should always have a place… to return to. A place that they can always call ‘home’. And it would be a home. They wouldn’t be forced to serve the old King, or either of us. We could be a family together,” Jeremy softly murmured.

“And what would happen to Thorax?” one of the changelings watching questioned, still sounding wary. “What would become of him?”

Jeremy thought about this as well. “Well… it would be unfair to depose him by assimilation. Thorax has proven himself a worthy leader already, and to ignore the skills he has learned would not benefit the Hive in any capacity. And… if we are being honest… I still don’t know everything I need to about changelings, and I need someone with both an outside and an inside perspective on the matter. Therefore… Thorax, will you stay on as an advisor of sorts? I cannot say how much political power you will have, but I will do my best to make sure you don’t feel beneath us,” Jeremy offered.

Thorax mulled over this. “I think… I think I will,” he decided.

“You’ll stay?” Chrysalis asked hopefully, and Thorax smiled at her.

“Yes, I’ll stay,” he agreed, and Chrysalis broke into a watery smile, taking him into a surprise hug.

“Welcome back, my child,” she whispered, to the shock of everyone in the room.

“Whoa. What… what happened to you... Chrysalis?” Thorax asked, patting her on the back uncertainly.

Chrysalis chuckled. “He happened,” she answered, jerking her head in Jeremy’s direction. Jeremy blushed, looking away even as he suppressed a grin.

They sat down around the relatively small kitchen table, which was carved of a milky white translucent gemstone and actually looked rather normal compared to the crystalline architecture outside. The room itself was made of a beige, opaque crystal, and looked rather small, as though it belonged to a more middle-class home than the upscale Canterlot interior decorating Jeremy was more used to. A changeling passed out a plate of cookies for each of them, looking as though she wanted to say something to Chrysalis but eventually deciding against it.

“So the old King kicked you out, huh?” Jeremy asked.

Thorax nodded. “It took a while, because he wasn’t used to actually paying attention to what we drones were thinking. Once he discovered the rebellion, though…” Every changeling around the table shivered in unison. “He wasn’t pleased.”

Jeremy sighed. “Anyone die?” he asked glumly.

Thorax shook his head. “We made it out. He threatened to banish us from the Hive, but I’m not sure he knew how. Speaking of which… what happened to him?”

“I banished him,” Chrysalis flatly answered. “He doesn’t have any love right now, so he should be in just about the same spot he left all of us in. Starving, and lost somewhere in the southern Badlands. I… I still might accept him back, if only… he wanted to,” Chrysalis sighed.

Thorax said nothing, but Jeremy caught an unmistakable, if fleeting, narrowing of his compound eyes.

“You think he should be left to die?” Jeremy asked quietly.

“I… He hasn’t been punished enough yet. I wouldn’t abandon him, but… I think he should spend more time realizing just how much pain he put us all through,” Thorax answered.

Jeremy hummed, unable to think of a reply to this. “So, how’s it been here? I heard your initial welcome was… less than warm, but how’s it been since?” he asked, changing the subject.

Thorax waved his hoof from side to side in a so-so motion, relieved. “Ponies are still getting used to us, but it’s been getting better. Just last week, I was invited to my first potluck!”

Jeremy grinned. “Potlucks are great, I used to have some of those at my university! What’d you bring?” he inquired.

Thorax glanced away guiltily. “They said ‘bring food’, so I brought some love that I had stored up… they were okay with it, because they knew that was ‘food’ for me, but… everypony else brought real food, so I felt a bit stupid.”

Jeremy considered this. “Well, it would have worked if you had more changelings at the potluck. Besides, it’s the thought that counts,” he consoled.

“Thanks…” Thorax trailed off. “Do you really hug Chrysalis?” he asked after a moment.

“I do at least four times per day, yes,” Jeremy answered. Chrysalis switched seats, sitting on his lap as she cuddled into him for emphasis. Thorax looked on in consternation, and Jeremy laughed as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her plate over to his seat so that she wouldn’t have to reach.

“I know it must seem strange, to see me so… affectionate,” Chrysalis remarked, turning her neck to face Thorax again. “But… he’s my everything. He helped me escape Tartarus, he helped me get rid of the old King, he taught me how to love and feel things again… and… he’s been nice to me. Nobody else has done that… well, my children did, because I forced them to respect me through fear,” Chrysalis noted sadly. “But… he was the first in a really long time to really mean it.”

Jeremy smiled down at her. “Like I could ever just leave you down there. Have you seen your smile? It’s the cutest thing ever!” Chrysalis promptly gave him a smile, her sharp teeth looking surprisingly gentle on her beaming expression. “Plus there’s that thing you do when you kick in your sleep and it’s adorable, and the way you always laugh as though you’re surprised at yourself, and-“ Jeremy began, but Chrysalis quickly put a hoof to his mouth.

“If I let him go on, we might be here for hours,” she muttered to them, and Thorax laughed appreciatively.

“He really is just as they described,” Thorax murmured to the other changelings.

“So… I don’t know if you were listening in, but… We discovered some stuff about changeling history-“ Jeremy began, but Thorax nodded before he could finish.

“I’ve already checked the library, without much luck. Seems like after Star Swirl’s initial expeditions, the trail went cold. Nopony knows where we might find additional clues that would indicate pre-Hespera changeling history.”

One of the changelings next to him gave a tiny cough, and Thorax turned to her. “Yes, Chelicerae?” he asked. Instead of answering, she looked at Chrysalis inquiringly.

“You may speak, Chelicerae. In fact, before I forget, all of you are allowed to speak in my presence,” Chrysalis announced. She smiled encouragingly at Chelicerae, who nervously cleared her throat.

“Well… um… it’s just… wouldn’t a good place to look be… the Origin Pool…?” she squeaked out.

Chrysalis’ eyes narrowed into an unmistakably familiar glare before hurriedly opening again. “I… do not wish to… dismiss your idea, Chelicerae, but that is a sacred place. Only royalty and a select few may enter, you know this,” Chrysalis gently reminded her.

“Wait. If only royalty may enter, that means we can look,” Jeremy rebutted.

“I’m no archaeologist, though,” Chrysalis replied glumly.

Jeremy smiled. “First time for everything,” he replied. “Besides, archaeology’s not that hard. We can bring back any interesting samples we find and have proper archaeologists take a look at them, without entering the pool. Would that work?” he asked.

Chrysalis considered this. “I suppose that might be alright… but we should return the samples to the caves, if we can. That place is too sacred to us to even have pieces of it out in the world.”

Jeremy nodded. “Then I guess we’ll look there,” he decided.

“Thorax, would you like to come along?” Chrysalis offered.

“M-me?!” Thorax spluttered, caught off guard, and jaws dropped around the table. “I- that is, I- I would like to, b-but I can’t just… can I…?” he wondered.

“Why not? You are of royal status now, as well,” Chrysalis reminded him.

“O-okay, but… would I even be able to help…?” Thorax wondered.

Jeremy laughed. “You have eyes to find things with, don’t you? Of course you’d be helpful!”

They ate for a moment more, Jeremy being the first to finish his plate of cookies and leaning back in satisfaction. “These are great, by the way. Who made them?” he asked.

“One of the bakers from down the street,” Thorax answered. “She said she made sure to bake them with lots of love, and wanted us to let her know if we could taste it.”

Chrysalis giggled. “I certainly can,” she confirmed, taking another one.

“So… what do you two plan to do today…?” Thorax asked after a moment.

“Well, Jeremy and I were thinking of going to see a movie,” Chrysalis answered.

“What was it called? ‘A Mare and her Griffin?” Jeremy wondered.

“A Mare and her Huntress,” Chrysalis corrected.

“Oh, that one! I watched it last week, it was very good! Although, apparently I am not supposed to spoil the details for those who haven’t watched it yet,” Thorax remembered.

Jeremy laughed, and nodded. “Do you know how long the theater’s open today?” he asked.

“Should be closed in about four hours,” a changeling near the back spoke up. When Chrysalis, Jeremy and Thorax glanced at her, she looked slightly sheepish. “I’m working there as one of the night crew for maintenance,” she explained, ducking her head away in embarrassment.

“Ah, okay. In that case, we should probably get going if we want to pick up Shining’s tickets,” Jeremy commented.

“Yes, let’s!” Chrysalis announced, bouncing up out of her seat to the stares of the surrounding changelings. “What?” she asked to their faintly offended expressions.

Jeremy rolled his eyes. “She’s not implying this place is boring or inadequate, she’s just very excited to go on a date.”

Chrysalis stopped as she realized this. “Oh… right, I suppose that would be rude if someone… hmm… What he said,” she declared after a moment.

Thorax sighed, trying to suppress a grin. “Enjoy the movie, Chrysalis,” he answered.

“Thank you! I will,” Chrysalis answered, pulling him into another hug. Once again, Thorax was too shocked to move as Chrysalis hugged him. With that done, she practically pulled Jeremy out the door, brimming with excitement and nearly hopping in place.

“Wow, you’re really looking forward to this, aren’t you?” Jeremy noticed, laughing with her infectiously joyous attitude.

“I really am! I can’t help it, I dreamed about doing stuff like this for years!” Chrysalis exclaimed, still beaming as she did her best impression of Pinkie Pie. Jeremy chuckled, tousling her hair as the two of them made their way towards the Crystal Palace.

As they made their way up the steps to the throne room, they were accosted by a pair of Guards.

“Halt!” one announced as the other blocked their way forward. “State your business!”

Jeremy and Chrysalis looked at each other, confused. “Shining invited us here,” Jeremy explained.

“A likely story!” the Guard harrumphed. “I shall check with my superiors. Stay here, and guard them well,” he ordered to the second Guard, who looked at them apologetically.

“He’s very protective of the Crystal Prince and Princess… and slow to forgive anyone who even comes near them,” he explained.

“I see,” Jeremy remarked. With nothing else to do, they waited on the steps, Chrysalis looking slightly anxious.

The guard returned, followed by a disgruntled Shining Armor. Upon reaching them, the guard sheepishly saluted. “My apologies, your Highnesses. I did not mean to be rude,” he declared.

“That’s alright,” Chrysalis demurred, and Jeremy simply shrugged amicably.

“Anyway, here are those invites. I’m giving you a few extra to get rid of them, so feel free to visit as many screenings as you like,” Shining offered.

“Thank you, Shining Armor,” Chrysalis answered, levitating the tickets over and tucking them in Jeremy’s pocket.

“Have fun!” Shining replied, trotting back into the palace as the Guard who had apologized followed him in.

“Well, that went better than expected,” Jeremy quipped.

“Onward, then?” Chrysalis asked eagerly.

Jeremy laughed, picking her up and causing her to yelp with surprise as he carried her down the steps. “Onward!” he agreed.

As he made his way down the steps and towards the movie theater, he could have sworn he saw a faint tinge of pink from a nearby bush. He blinked, and it was gone. Chalking it up to a trick of the light, Jeremy resumed carrying Chrysalis bridal-style to their date.

They found the movie theater relatively easily, owing to the fact that it stood out like a sore thumb against the smaller crystal buildings surrounding it. A neon sign was lit up above the door, and a list of shows was posted just below.

“There it is, ‘A Mare and her Huntress’,” Jeremy spotted, pointing at the entry.

“It starts in half an hour, let’s hurry!” Chrysalis enthused, bounding towards the ticket booth. “Two tickets to ‘A Mare and her Huntress’, please!” she announced, levitating Shining’s tickets into the booth so enthusiastically that they smacked the operator in the face.

He spluttered, the stool he was sitting on wobbling dangerously as he ripped the tickets off of himself to get a look at them. “That… seems to be in order,” he noted after a moment. “Go on in!” Chrysalis hurriedly ushered Jeremy inside, but not before he caught the operator muttering “Weirdos…” under his breath. Rolling his eyes, Jeremy decided to let it go and enjoy their date.

They found the theater’s entrance hall to be packed with crystal ponies, excitedly chattering about whichever movies they were seeing. As the two of them walked past a sign advertising ‘Power Ponies 4Ever’, Jeremy caught sight of the popcorn stand that was required by some interuniversal law to be present in every movie theater ever made.

“Popcorn?” Chrysalis wondered, following his gaze.

“Like regular corn, but heated so that it… well, you’ll just have to try it. It’s pretty good! Though, I haven’t had any in a while,” Jeremy noted. He paid for two large boxes of popcorn, and handed one to Chrysalis, from which she levitated a piece of the white, fluffy snack and popped it in her mouth. Chewing thoughtfully, she swallowed and coughed a moment later.

“Tasty… but dry. Tastes a bit like apathy, really.”

Jeremy raised an eyebrow. “But I thought you said fish tasted like apathy?” he remembered as they walked through a corridor to the screening for ‘A Mare and her Huntress’.

Chrysalis shrugged. “It did. They taste about the same, I think.”

Jeremy gave her a perplexed look. “And yet, to me, they taste nothing alike. Weird… Maybe the taste of food isn’t correlated with certain emotions after all?”

Chrysalis considered this. “Well… hmm. I guess we’ll find out.”

Finding the top box of the theater they were in was surprisingly difficult. It turned out that they had to exit the corridor, go up a floor, and return to the screening through a hall labeled ‘VIP Guests only’ to enter it. When all was said and done, though, Jeremy was… “Well, I’m not exactly impressed,” he whispered to Chrysalis. “This is just like the regular seats, only higher up.”

Chrysalis giggled. “Have you never been up here before?” she asked.

Jeremy shook his head. “I’m a middle-class kid, remember? Couldn’t afford it.”

Chrysalis snorted. “Well, the seats do look like they have a bit of extra padding,” she noted.

“Sure, but was it really worth the extra… how much was this ticket worth?” Jeremy muttered, checking the receipt he had been given. “Thirty bits extra for Top Box seating. Comes with a complimentary serving of entrée,” he read quietly. “Wait, we get free food? Darn. Guess we didn’t need to buy popcorn, then.”

Chrysalis scoffed. “It’s probably ‘rich’ food, like the stuff in Canterlot. At least the popcorn’s new, and interesting,” she retorted, popping another mouthful and crunching on it contentedly.

Jeremy chuckled. “True. One does not simply attend a movie without ordering popcorn, it’s part of the experience,” he agreed.

A few more ponies filed into the top box, dressed in finery that was so gilded and bejeweled that it bordered on gaudy. Jeremy immediately fell silent, acutely aware that he was dressed in Cory’s jacket and a pair of jeans, both of which were still slightly damp from his treks through the snow. He felt oddly self-conscious, and looked every which way to avoid looking at the nobility that were sitting nearby him. Don’t I normally pride myself on not caring about this sort of thing? This isn’t like me, he reflected, Chrysalis looking at him in concern. But before she could say anything, the massive screen in front of them lit up, and the crowd that was sitting below them quickly hushed as the lights dimmed.

About a quarter way through, Jeremy was thoroughly enjoying the movie. It had good jokes, the romance wasn’t forced, and the soundtrack was pretty decent for a romance flick. Most of the plot involved the griffoness, who had recently moved into a small pony town, falling for a pony that made a living selling flowers, which was apparently a distinctly un-griffonly thing to do. The pony had just discovered the griffoness hunting, and instead of being revolted had actually offered to help, knowing just where prey abounded from her years spent trekking the forest in search of rare flowers.

“Awww,” Jeremy sighed quietly, and Chrysalis hummed in agreement as she watched the pair on screen working together to track down a rogue bunny that the huntress had set her sights on.

“Shhh!” another noble shushed the pair of them.

Chrysalis immediately glared at the offender, who glared right back, apparently undaunted by the changeling queen’s imposingly sharp fangs and double-irised, slightly glowing eyes. The noblemare was about to say something further when a theater staffmember politely tapped her on the withers, dressed in a sharp black business suit and sunglasses.

“Excuse me, miss, but you should come with me,” he muttered quietly.

“What? But why?” the mare asked, confused.

Instead of answering, the staffpony simply trotted towards the exit to the rest of the theater, and after a moment the perplexed mare hurried after him. Jeremy watched them go, eyebrow raised, but decided to remain silent in favor of watching the rest of the movie.

About halfway through, Chrysalis decided to cuddle into his lap, drawing Cory’s jacket around herself and never once taking her eyes off the movie. The stereotypical former pegasus boyfriend from the flower mare’s past had showed up, demanding she return to him and stop wasting her time with a griffon… to which the huntress had responded by picking him up in her talons, flying several hundred feet straight up, hurling him towards the earth, and saving him at the last moment before flicking him with her wings in an impressive display of mockery for the poor pegasus’ flying abilities. Chrysalis, who had been grinning like a maniac the whole time this was happening, was mentally cheering on the huntress, though Jeremy was wondering if that was indeed the fair thing to do.

Well, nobody got hurt, Chrysalis argued.

Yeah, that’s true. Still, the pegasus guy isn’t gonna take that lying down, Jeremy shrewdly observed.

He was proven correct when the pegasus ex-boyfriend challenged the griffon to a race towards the summit of a mountain deep in the forest, where the winner would be able to claim one of the rarest flowers in existence and present it to the flower mare as a token of their affection. The flower mare, meanwhile, had figured out the whole thing despite it being kept secret via her very observant brother, a painter who could apparently use his talents to camouflage himself very effectively into the background scenery. She rushed to confront the griffoness, asking if her love was nothing more than a mark of pride, a trophy to be earned, to which the huntress had bemusedly responded “It is not the pride of victory I seek… but the thrill of the hunt. Your love would not be a worthy trophy if it only came at the cost of a simple race.”

Oh my goodness, that’s corny, Jeremy complained, though he was refraining from laughing all the same.

And yet, it did seem to work, Chrysalis noted, carefully watching the flower pony as she walked home to mull this over, blushing slightly as the griffon's words echoed in her head.

The race began, and it quickly became clear that the ex-boyfriend was pulling out all the stops to beat the huntress, from attempting to lose her in the deep forest, to confusing her via a series of caves and tunnels through the mountain, and finally by using explosives to trap her in said cave. Chrysalis silently smoldered as the pegasus victoriously presented the rarest flower to the flower mare, head held high and expecting praise. To the changeling queen’s joy, however, the flower mare went on a rant that the ex-boyfriend had turned her love into a contest, and that she was not a cheap prize to be won by a flower, revealing that she had known about the race all along. The griffon emerged, having apparently escaped via the help of the flower mare’s brother, and they walked into the sunset, the huntress’ wing protectively wrapped around her lover.

“Seems I’ve caught you at last, then,” the huntress announced, with a knowing smile.

The flower mare sighed, grinning. “I suppose you have,” she agreed. “Do you intend to keep me?” she asked after a moment, gazing up at the griffon she loved.

The griffon laughed. “Every griffon is taught from birth that only those who have earned their catch may keep it. So… have I earned you?” she asked, a slight hint of uncertainty permeating her otherwise predatory eyes.

Instead of answering, the flower mare tackled her to the ground, kissing her griffon as hard as she could and showing a surprising amount of strength despite being so much smaller. As the scene faded to black, the audience stomped their hooves wildly, applauding and cheering as the credits rolled. Chrysalis was screaming too, practically crying and beaming as she stamped her hooves into the carpet with enough force to make the entire top box shake. Jeremy, meanwhile, was unsure if he should be clapping or stomping, and eventually settled on stomping a foot into the carpet himself, laughing as Chrysalis hugged him ecstatically.

“So, how was it?” Jeremy asked knowingly as they exited the theater.

“It. Was. Amazing. The way they worked together! Even though they were so different, they clicked like it was nothing, like it was natural to them! And the kissing – I could practically taste the love in the air! And the way that the mare really put her hoof down on her ex-coltfriend for trying to ‘own’ her, it felt so good! That’s exactly what I hoped a movie would be like!” Chrysalis rambled joyously, her wings buzzing and lifting her a foot off the ground with every step.

Jeremy laughed at her infectious enthusiasm. “Shining wasn’t kidding when he said it was good, huh? Dude really knows how to pick ‘em.”

Chrysalis laughed appreciatively. “You’re not wrong! So… what’s next? You mentioned a ‘restaurant’?” she asked.

Jeremy looked around. The sun was still up, but unless he was mistaken, it was about time for it to lower. “Well, it is dinnertime,” he agreed, and Chrysalis lit up all over again, her every motion expressing eagerness as she bounded forth. “Typically we have to make a reservation, though…” Jeremy noted with some dismay. There was a burst of pink magic in front of him, and he stopped suddenly, nearly walking right through it as a scroll of parchment popped out, embossed with a wax seal of the Crystal Heart and pink ribboning. Bemused, Jeremy unfurled it, and read:

“Dear Jeremy and Chrysalis,

I almost forgot, but if you’re looking for a good place to get dinner tonight, there’s a fantastic restaurant that Cadance really loves near the palace. We were going to go tonight, but Flurry’s singing lessons are taking a bit longer than expected, so you can use this letter at the restaurant for our reservation. Look for ‘Romantique’, it’s pretty ornate even by Crystal Empire standards. Oh, and make sure to try the garlic bread!

Sincerely,
Prince Shining Armor

P.S. I, Prince Shining Armor of the Crystal Empire, hereby give my and Princess Cadance’s full permission for King Jeremy and Queen Chrysalis to claim my reservation this night at Romantique.”

Jeremy was tempted to comment on the incredible convenience of this occurrence, but shelved it as merely another effect of this universe’s tendency for show-oriented plot devices, and turned to Chrysalis. “Well? Looks like we’re going to a fancy restaurant,” he announced. Chrysalis beamed at him, and Jeremy was surprised to hear that characters in this universe really did make that little ‘squee’ sound when they were especially happy.

Finding the restaurant was no trouble, and they stared at the crystalline exterior. It was carved all across the front with pictures of ponies in romantic settings: Walking in the garden, dancing at a ball, and kissing in the moonlight were just a few of the examples Jeremy managed to pick out.

“So… ‘Romantique’. Isn’t that just French for ‘romance’, or something?” Jeremy wondered aloud.

“If I had to guess, a lot of places here are named after ‘love’ of some kind because Cadance is the Princess of Love,” Chrysalis commented.

Jeremy shrugged. “Makes sense, I guess.”

They entered the restaurant to find an incredibly well-dressed pegasus mare at the front stand. She surveyed Jeremy’s clothing with a clear look of displeasure, before turning to Chrysalis and practically gasping before curtsying as low as she dared.

“Madame, your crown is magnifique! ‘Ou must be une reine… er, how you say, ‘a queen’! Has zis poor… ah… thing been troubling you?” she asked breathlessly, with another distinctly unamused look at Jeremy’s shabby clothes.

Chrysalis raised an eyebrow. “That ‘poor thing’ happens to be my date tonight,” she corrected regally.

“Ah, excusez-moi – er, my mistake! A lady had une similar problem last night, I am jumping at conclusions,” the mare replied, flustered by her comments.

“It’s alright. Anyway, Prince Shining Armor gave us this letter to take his reservation for the night,” Jeremy explained, handing over the letter. The Prenchmare inspected the seal carefully, sniffing it once before opening and reading the letter, her eyes widening.

“Zat s-seems to be in order,” she nervously announced, before hastily smiling at the pair of them. “Your table is ready! Right this way, your Majesties,” she declared, leading the two of them towards the center of the restaurant. Jeremy and Chrysalis looked at each other in consternation, but followed her anyway.

They were seated in the very center of the restaurant, on a raised podium that was in full view of every single other patron, and the mare who had been escorting them hurriedly whisked away to prepare their appetizers.

“Well, this is certainly… fancy,” Chrysalis noted, looking around.

“As little as I normally care about fitting in with high society… she had a point. I’m woefully underdressed for a place like this,” Jeremy worried.

Chrysalis hummed in thought, looking over Cory’s jacket in concern before lighting her horn. A flash of green light later, and Jeremy was shocked to find that he was now wearing his old Kingly robes, the same ones that the three changeling fashion designers had made for him what felt like ages ago.

“Weren’t these destroyed in the fire?” he asked, and Chrysalis sighed.

“Those three insisted on sneaking back and grabbing them from your room. I’ve been trying to remember to remind you to wear them again, but with everything that’s been happening…” she trailed off, and Jeremy nodded.

“That’s fair, things have been kind of crazy lately. Where’d you send my other clothes?”

Chrysalis laughed. “I teleported Cory’s jacket back to him, and your jeans are back in Canterlot. Maybe I should summon your armor here, go the extra mile to make you look Kingly?” she joked, and Jeremy laughed appreciatively.

“Robes are one thing, but ceremonial futuristic armor is quite another. I think that mare’s jaw would hit the floor if she saw me wearing that all of a sudden.” Chrysalis giggled.

The mare in question returned with a literal pile of garlic bread held in a basket in her mouth, and two glasses of water that were expertly balanced on a tray on her back. “Your appetizers, madame and…” she trailed off as she caught sight of Jeremy’s new clothes.

“Thought you had a point, so I changed. You like it?” Jeremy asked, grinning.

“Ah… yes! Yes, zat is most charmante!” she answered after a moment of stunned gawking, before ducking back into the kitchen.

They dug into the garlic bread, Jeremy feeling immense gratitude at Shining Armor for introducing him to such a delicious, high-class version of the god-tier appetizer.

“So… I can tell you’re enjoying this upper-class food,” Chrysalis teased, watching Jeremy bite into yet another piece of bread with surprising intensity.

Jeremy swallowed mightily, before chuckling. “Who knows when I will see garlic bread of such caliber again? I must enjoy it while it lasts,” he declared.

Two baskets later, the server mare returned with a notepad and quill in her teeth. “And what will you be having for your main course, my lady?” she asked.

Chrysalis glanced through the menu. “I shall try… the ‘ratatouille,’ she decided.

“And you, monsieur?” the server asked, turning to Jeremy. He gazed critically at the menu, instinctively drawn to the lower-price items.

“I’ll try… the… ‘salade niçoise,’” he decided, handing the menu to her.

“Excellent choice, sir, I shall have them out to you in just a moment,” the server mare declared, trotting off quickly.

“She seems nervous,” Chrysalis noted as soon as they had gone.

“Well, we are royalty, and they were expecting Cadance and Shining Armor,” Jeremy pointed out. “Probably doesn’t know if we’ll take something the wrong way.” Chrysalis hummed in agreement. With nothing else to say, they politely waited for their meals to arrive.

To Jeremy’s surprise, the server returned with their meals in just a few minutes. “Fast service,” Jeremy complimented her as she arrived. She gave him a flustered smile, setting down a plate in front of him.

“Tis’ my pleasure, sir!” she squeaked out, voice one octave higher than normal.

“Um. I think that’s mine, actually?” Chrysalis pointed out. Jeremy looked down, and sure enough, he was staring at a bowl of soup rather than a salad.

“Oh! Oh, I’m so sorry!” their server declared, hurriedly sliding the plate over to Chrysalis. In her haste, the soup splashed out of the bowl, some of it landing on Chrysalis, dripping down her front as Chrysalis’ eyes widened in shock. The server mare paled.

“I… I…” she stammered, unable to form words as all eyes in the restaurant turned to her and conversation ceased. Without another word, she burst into tears, galloping back through the double doors leading to the kitchen as the other patrons watched her go. Jeremy, taken aback, watched her go as well, unable to form a response to what he had just seen. Chrysalis, meanwhile, had already cleaned herself off, and was gently pulling on his shoulder with a hoof.

“Hm?” Jeremy noted, snapping out of his reverie and looking at her.

“Come on, we should go comfort her, right?” Chrysalis urged.

“Oh! Yes, you’re right, let’s go,” Jeremy hastily agreed, standing up and following her.

They entered the double doors cautiously, to find chefs all around them preparing meals, cleaning dishes, and assembling clean tableware to be delivered to the empty tables.

“Did you see-“ Jeremy asked a nearby chef, but was cut off as he grunted and pointed at a nearby door. Raising an eyebrow, Chrysalis strode over to seize it, but was dismayed to find it locked.

“Assez, aller!” the servermare shrieked from inside.

“What’d she say?” Chrysalis wondered quietly.

“Probably ‘go away’ or something?” Jeremy muttered back, barely audible over the clatter of the kitchen. “We’re not mad at you, okay?” he called out to her.

“It’s alright. Whatever you fear we might do, we promise not to,” Chrysalis added with a worried look at the firmly closed door.

The door cracked open, revealing the interior of a janitor’s closet as the scared, disheveled Prenchmare peeked out. “Je suis désolé,” she mumbled, fresh tear tracks making their way down her face.

“That’s it, come on out. It’s okay, nobody thinks any worse of you,” Jeremy encouraged.

She edged her way out, as slow and unsure as a newborn foal seeing the world for the first time as she put a delicate hoof over the edge of the doorframe. Jeremy and Chrysalis patiently waited. Finally, their server made her way back out into the kitchen, still looking small and afraid. “I… I have failed my Princess…” she mumbled, unwilling to look at them.

“Why is that?” Chrysalis softly asked.

“She… she…” the server tried, but couldn’t go on, showing every sign of collapsing. To her surprise, Chrysalis took her into a hug, the much larger changeling queen holding her up with her strong, but gentle forehooves.

“You have not failed your Princess, nor have you failed us,” she murmured.

“Wh- wha?” the tiny pony in her embrace squeaked. Chrysalis smiled down at her.

“Many of my servants have had a similar problem. Terrified to disrespect royalty, they let their fears consume them, and made more and more mistakes as a result. But I am not disrespected by your service, not tonight,” she announced, carrying the pony as easily as she would carry a pillow back to their table and setting her down on her lap.

“N-non? But it is mine first day on ze job, a-and I haven’t trained myself enough, a-and…” the Prenchmare got out, disbelief in both her voice and expression.

Chrysalis cut her off with a gentle hoof to her lips. “Tonight, I am honored. That you cared so much about my happiness, that you strove to do your best for both me and your Princess… you have proven yourself more than worthy of my respect,” she declared, the three of them acutely aware that the entire restaurant had fallen silent to listen.

“Salade Niçoise?” a familiar voice called out, and the three of them turned around to find that, to everyone’s surprise, Princess Cadance had followed them out of the kitchen.

“M-ma princesse?!” the pegasus exclaimed, hastily bowing as the other patrons made to follow suit.

“Everypony rise, there is no need for formality,” Cadance excused them. She then approached Salade Niçoise, an apologetic expression on the pink alicorn’s face. “This is my fault, and nopony else’s. I was following these two in an attempt to make their date perfect, and in my haste to ensure everything went well, I forgot to ask if you were okay with it. You have my utmost apologies, miss Niçoise,” Cadance declared, bowing to her.

“Wait. So it was you I saw hiding in the bushes outside the throne room!” Jeremy accused, and Cadance smiled bashfully.

“And it was me who had that rude mare next to you in the theater removed,” she revealed.

“A-and you asked me to make zeir date parfait... perfect,” Salade added timidly.

Cadance nodded sadly. “Don’t worry about getting fired, I’ll vouch for you personally,” she addressed the tiny pegasus, who straightened up slightly at hearing she wasn’t going to be fired. “Now… I’d better go, in case you two want to finish off your date!” Cadance announced, a flash of her pink-purple wings all they saw as she quickly departed. The three shared a moment of silence, as the chatter of the restaurant began to pick back up.

“So… ‘Salade Niçoise, huh?” Jeremy asked her, glancing down at his dish and noting the similarity to her Cutie Mark.

Salade smiled, ruffling her wings a bit. “I, ah… ze restaurant will let me cook zat particular dish whenever a customer orders it. It was ze reason I was employed, actually…”

Jeremy took a bite, watching her hopeful expression, and smiled encouragingly at her. “I can see why, this is fantastic!” he complimented. Salade smiled, hiding her face behind her wing in embarrassment.

“So, miss Niçoise, how is life as a waitress?” Chrysalis asked, releasing the pegasus from her embrace.

“It is my first day, so I have yet to be finding out,” Salade Niçoise answered shyly.

“How’s the pay?” Jeremy asked bluntly, and Salade tittered.

“It is good! I am moving to a new apartment soon, one zat has more furnishings,” she answered happily.

Jeremy smiled at her. “Glad to hear it! You’re moving up in the world,” he complimented.

“Would you like some garlic bread?” Chrysalis asked, levitating a stick in front of her.

“O-oh, no, I couldn’t, I am your waitress-“ Salade began.

“Nonsense, you are our new friend and you have just been through quite a night. Come on, try some!” Chrysalis begged.

Hesitantly, Salade took a stick of garlic bread and popped it into her mouth, her eyes widening as she did so. “G-good…” she moaned slightly, and Chrysalis laughed.

An hour later, they had finished their plates, and Salade got to her hooves so that she could take her plates. “I had better be getting back to my working,” she sighed reluctantly.

“You don’t have to-“ Jeremy began, but this time Salade was the one who cut him off.

“It is alright,” she replied. “It is what I want.”

Jeremy fell silent, smiling at her, and she smiled back.

“If you ever need anything, anything at all, come find us,” Chrysalis said softly, engulfing the pegasus in one last hug. She hugged the changeling queen right back, nuzzling into her embrace with a dreamy smile.

“I will remember,” she promised, and picked up their plates and left. Jeremy and Chrysalis watched her go, smiling at each other after a moment.

“So, good date?” Jeremy asked as he opened the door for her.

“The best,” Chrysalis agreed, beaming.

They made their way back up to the castle, only to find that its doors had closed. “Oh, dear. I think they close it to the public after nightfall,” Jeremy realized.

Chrysalis snorted in amusement. “Another adventure, then?” she asked, holding out a hoof.

Jeremy took it, chuckling. “You know me far too well.”

Six short flights, a few staircases and an opened window later, they walked into the throne room, where two Crystal Guards jumped at the sight of them.

“How’d you get inside?” one asked.

“You left the eighth-story window on the northeast spire open,” Jeremy answered, and the guard sighed.

“This is the last time I let Crystal Hoof do an inspection,” he muttered, trotting off to presumably reprimand said pony.

Did he just namedrop Thorax’s alias? Jeremy wondered.

Thorax has an alias in the Crystal Kingdom? Why? Everypony loves him here, Chrysalis wondered right back.

His initial reception wasn’t so great. He chose that name randomly, so I’m just confused that there’s a real pony to match, Jeremy answered, as they made their way upstairs, having no idea where Cadance or the other humans were.

An hour later, they were completely lost in the castle, and Jeremy’s feet were starting to get tired. “The Princesses really need to start posting maps in their castles,” he grumbled.

“And what, risk an invading party knowing exactly where to go?” Chrysalis pointed out.

Jeremy sighed. “True… but still.”

Chrysalis’ ears perked up. “Wait. Do you hear that?” she asked. Jeremy shook his head. Chrysalis’ ear twitched some more. “Let’s go that way,” she directed, pointing down a hallway to his right. Shrugging, Jeremy followed her down the corridor.

To his surprise, he began to hear strains of music as they walked onward. “Is that…?” he trailed off curiously.

“Sombra’s song,” Chrysalis confirmed. “He must be nearby.”

A door was open on their left, revealing a brightly lit room and the sounds of laughter inside. Jeremy peeked inside curiously to find Sombra, Shining Armor, Cadance, and Sunburst playing with Flurry Heart. To their further surprise, Flurry was the one playing the song, as Sombra watched on in approval.

“Very good, sweetie!” Cadance complimented as she finished.

“Nicely played,” Jeremy complimented, taking a seat by Sombra. Chrysalis, meanwhile, lowered her head down so that she was face-to-face with the tiny alicorn foal, tail wagging slightly.

“What is she…?” Shining trailed off, only to find that Chrysalis was sticking her forked tongue out to poke Flurry on the nose, the baby giggling and covering her snout as Chrysalis continued to tickle her.

“Boop!” Chrysalis announced, and Flurry laughed louder as she pounced onto Chrysalis’ head to escape, hanging off the changeling queen’s massive horn as Chrysalis stared cross-eyed up at her. “Taking the offensive? Good, a fine warrior you’ll make!” Chrysalis teased, and Flurry burbled happily. “Unfortunately, you’ve underestimated my booping powers!” she continued, her tongue lengthening to reach up and boop Flurry’s snout once more.

Flurry, determined to evade the Tongue of Boopening, began to run around Chrysalis’ horn in circles, her tongue chasing the tiny foal and wrapping around her horn in the process. Jeremy watched as his girlfriend’s tongue grew to three, then four feet long, continuing to wrap around her horn until it could grow no more. Chrysalis slumped to the ground, her tongue having tied itself in a knot around her horn.

“I’ve been defeated! How could this have happened?! How could I have been beaten by such a clever and playful little foal!” she announced, somehow still able to speak perfectly despite her tongue being so extended.

Flurry giggled, jumping up and down on the ‘defeated’ changeling monarch’s head victoriously as the others laughed. Chrysalis shape-shifted her tongue back into her mouth, grinning at Flurry Heart playfully.

“Anyway, we were locked out. Where are all the other humans staying?” Jeremy asked. “Down the hall and to the left, the Princess Suite,” Cadance immediately answered. “We typically save it for visiting dignitaries, but considering none are actually visiting at the moment…”

Jeremy nodded smartly. “Sounds good to me,” he answered. They watched Chrysalis play around with Flurry a moment more, the others either too tired or too contented to join in.

“Is she like this around foals?” Cadance asked curiously.

Jeremy snorted. “Normally, I’m like this around foals. She’s usually busy getting all the adult stuff done.”

Cadance laughed appreciatively. “How was your date?” she asked.

“It was the best date I’ve ever gone on… out of one total dates,” Jeremy snorted.

“Hey, if this were golf, you’d be a winner,” Shining called over, and Jeremy laughed.

“Golf? I thought you were a hoofball kind of guy,” he snarked back.

Shining shrugged. “Golf, hoofball, what’s the difference?” he airily replied, giving Jeremy a knowing smirk.

“S-so, you’re King Jeremy and Queen Chrysalis,” Sunburst shakily introduced after a moment of silence.

“Yep, that’s us. You’re Sunburst, right? Pleasure to meet you,” Jeremy amiably returned, shaking his hoof.

“Same here. Er, not that it’s a pleasure to meet myself, but-“ Sunburst began, but was cut off by Jeremy laughing.

“I know what you mean, don’t worry. So, how’s life?” he asked.

“Life’s… pretty good, I guess? I’m the Royal Crystaller now, which means I’m apparently pretty important…” Sunburst trailed off.

“Feeling thrust into a huge responsibility and you’re only pretending to know what you’re doing?” Jeremy shrewdly guessed.

Sunburst gave him a sheepish smile. “How’d you know?” he asked.

Jeremy leaned in. “Because everyone else is doing it too,” he whispered with the air of someone who was revealing a well-kept secret. Taken by surprise, Sunburst laughed delightedly, Flurry and Chrysalis pausing their play for a moment as Flurry beamed up at her Crystaller and tutor.

“It took me a whole hour of talking to even get him to smile,” Sombra grumped from a corner, and Sunburst chuckled sheepishly.

“Sorry, Mister Sombra,” he replied. “I’m… not used to this whole ‘social interaction’ thing yet.”

Sombra, meanwhile, was looking thoughtful. “Mister Sombra…” he trailed off. “…I like the sound of that.”

Jeremy snorted in amusement. “Anyway, I think it’s time we got to bed,” he declared with a significant look at Chrysalis.

“But I wanna play with her more!” Chrysalis whined.

Jeremy laughed, picking her up like a cat. “You can play with her more tomorrow. Now say goodnight,” he pretended to instruct.

Instead of speaking, Chrysalis first leaned her sinuous neck forward to kiss Flurry Heart on the forehead. “Sleep well, little Flurry!” she whispered. “I’ll come back to play tomorrow.” Flurry messily smooched her forehead right back, burbling happily, and Chrysalis let herself be carried out of the room by Jeremy.

“Goodnight!” they called to Cadance, Flurry, Sombra and Sunburst.

They found the Princess Suite to be a wide, well-lit room surrounded by doors to smaller rooms, some of which were still open.

“I guess we just pick a room that’s not taken?” Jeremy wondered.

“I want… that one,” Chrysalis decided, pointing to the darkest room.

Jeremy chuckled, peeking inside. Nobody was there, either human, pony, or otherwise, so he obediently disrobed, hanging the robe up in the closet and crossing to the bathroom to brush his teeth and get ready for bed. Chrysalis joined him, clumsily manipulating the toothbrush in her mouth as she attempted to scrub her teeth.

Finally, they collapsed into bed, the exhaustion of the day’s events catching up with them. “Best day of my life,” Jeremy sighed, cuddling into her under the warm, cozy covers.

“You say that every day we do something…” Chrysalis murmured.

“And I’m never wrong,” Jeremy completed, nuzzling her on the forehead.

Chapter 15

Jeremy woke up to feel a blustery breeze whirling around over his head. The clouds overhead, though having grown in number, were quickly being pushed by the wind to be somewhere else, the usual sunny disposition of the field of flowers following hot on their heels. He sat up, looking around, and took a moment to think. What was this place, anyway? He’d returned here so many times that it couldn’t be a simple dream, not anymore. The gigantic green flower was in front of him as usual, and Jeremy gave it a few halfhearted pets as he contemplated the nature of this odd place. He looked up, and noticed that there was no actual sun in the sky, despite the light shining down. The clouds were the only defining feature in the place, and they were rapidly receding into the distance, though the wind remained. To his north, south, east and west, there was nothing but an endless plain of colorful flowers. Jeremy stood up, giving one last comforting rub to the giant green flower in front of him. “I’ll be back,” he whispered. He began walking, picking a random direction.

What seemed like hours passed. He wasn’t walking in circles, at least as far as he could tell – the field was simply incredibly long, continuing to stretch off into the distance no matter how far he walked. The clouds had long since disappeared, and the warm light of the not-sun shone down on his back as he continued his journey onward. Initially, Jeremy had been concerned he might step on a flower, but he had quickly found that they seemed to jump out of his way if he tried, jumping back into place as soon as he left that spot. He stopped to examine the flowers around him, finding only that they were as pretty and colorful as all the others.

A few more ‘hours’ of walking, and he spotted something in the distance. Excited, Jeremy began walking faster towards it, only to slow his pace as he thought it was just another, larger flower. Still, it was the only noticeable feature in this endless plain, and so he continued to approach it.

As he came within view, Jeremy realized it was not a flower, but a tree. A very familiar tree. The Tree of Harmony was there, the six jewels of the Elements set into its trunk just as they had been in the show. Sunlight glistened off of its crystalline, milky white boughs, strings of blue beads draped around them as though they were berries or vines. Jeremy curiously reached up to brush a speck of dust off of the Element of Loyalty.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

Jeremy whirled around to behold a tall alicorn, standing in front of him. Her coat was snow white with a tinge of blue, not unlike Celestia’s pearly sheen but lacking the warmth of tone the solar princess’ coat possessed. This alicorn’s hair was powder-blue, and curly enough to give Sam a run for his money, draped around her neck in increasingly poofy curls that intersected and played with each other in a way that spoke not of tangles, but of loosely woven threads, working together to keep the overall manestyle despite their seemingly random directions. Her horn spiraled upward, having a curved taper much more akin to Sombra’s horn than any other pony Jeremy had met. Her wings were fluffy and large, larger even than Celestia’s, and her tail was much like her mane. Perhaps the most shocking feature of all was that she had no Cutie Mark on her flank. As soon as Jeremy noticed this, however, she winked at him, and the world went white.

He woke up again to find himself being snuggled by Chrysalis, the latter murmuring something inaudible as she nuzzled his face. Jeremy felt a brief flicker of annoyance at being woken up from what was probably some life-changing event, but decided to let it go in favor of returning his girlfriend’s cuddles.

“Morning honey… how was your rest?” she asked quietly, rubbing his belly with a soft hoof.

Jeremy hummed contentedly. “Good…” he drowsily answered. “I think… I met somebody… in my dreams,” he got out, yawning mightily.

“Princess Luna?” Chrysalis asked curiously.

Jeremy made a noise of disagreement.

“…Nightmare Moon?” she tried again.

Jeremy responded similarly. “I don’t think it was… anybody we’ve ever met before. She was… new,” he sleepily explained.

“Oh. Was she nice?” Chrysalis asked.

Jeremy made a noncommittal noise. “We didn’t talk much…” With not much else to say, they resumed cuddling.

A while later, Shining Armor peeked into their room, to find Jeremy drowsily surveying him as Chrysalis snoozed. “Looks like you’ve been laying there for a while,” Shining teased.

Jeremy snorted. “She’s like a cat. If you’ve ever owned a cat, you’ll know the rules about moving a sleeping one.”

Shining chuckled softly. “I’ve had enough friends who have, so I’m aware of the terrible fate that awaits those who try. Anyway, now that this whole fiasco is over, we’re heading back to Canterlot today. And, um… I wanted to talk with you two about something else.”

Jeremy raised an eyebrow, looking down at Chrysalis. She gently scuffed a hoof along the bedspread, tongue poking out to lick his shirt. “…I’ll pass it on to her when she awakes,” Jeremy decided. “What’s up?”

Shining kicked a hoof awkwardly. “Well, it’s just – I know we Elements of Harmony are supposed to be teaching you humans how to use your Elements, but… to be honest, Cadance and I have our hooves full already taking care of Flurry, and… could you manage on your own?” Shining asked, grimacing as he looked anywhere but at Jeremy.

Jeremy considered this for a moment, then shrugged and nodded. “Yeah, I get that. Looking after your kid’s important, and raising her… Well, the saying ‘it takes a village’ exists for a reason.”

Shining laughed in relief. “Hah! Yeah… thanks.” He turned pensive for a moment, huffing an unusually serious sigh. “I… Even if you’re okay with it, I still feel awful about abandoning my duty to you. You’re the next generation, after all. Just like the soldiers I used to train, I feel like it’s my responsibility to make sure you’re up to the task… And even if you’ve faced down Tartarus itself and come out unscathed, I promised myself I wouldn’t turn away from my duties as Captain of the Guard. That I’d be strong enough to raise my little Flurry and train my Guards. And… this feels like a betrayal of that promise, you know?” Seemingly shocked by how much he had said, Shining ruffled his mane and smiled guility. “Sorry… this is probably way too much to break to a guy early in the morning. I, uh-“

“Shining,” Jeremy began.

“What?” Shining answered, looking at him in surprise.

“I’m okay talking about this kind of stuff. It’s normal for you to feel uncertain if you made the right choice, I feel that all the time! And personally, I think your kid is a bit more important than me. She’s the next generation, too – the next alicorn, the next Princess. Sure, you’re not training her to be a big, strong Guard. But you’re doing something far more important: You’re training her to be a good person,” Jeremy explained.

“Heh. You make it sound so noble and brave. Meanwhile, I’m changing diapers and reading books. Not exactly glamorous,” Shining joked.

Jeremy grinned. “I’ve been trying to tell everyone that kind of thing for ages. Noble actions don’t always seem so great when you’re making them. You worry, you wonder what the other path might have been like.” And sometimes, you go back and choose that other path. Just to see, he added mentally.

“When do you figure out if you did the right thing? One of my biggest worries is that years down the line… I’ll realize I’ve made some awful mistake in raising my daughter,” Shining admitted, head drooping.

Jeremy smiled. “Then allow me to give you the most important advice I was ever told about parenting. Here it is: ‘Kids, like adults, make lots of mistakes.’”

Shining tilted his head. “Huh?” he asked.

“Kids, to put it bluntly, are kind of dumb. That’s by nature, and no fault of theirs – they simply haven’t learned how the world works yet. The brain’s a wonderful pattern-matcher, Shining, but it needs data. Experience. Growth. Kids need to make mistakes – paradoxically, it’s the only way to get them to learn how to stop making mistakes. So let Flurry make hers, within a few boundaries. Let her hurt herself, and become stronger for it. Let her be a child, not some miniature adult who’s told to be perfect all the time.”

Shining looked at him strangely. “Who told you that?” he wondered.

“…Well, to be honest, I don’t remember,” Jeremy admitted with a laugh.

“Well… it’s a lot better than all the parenting advice I’ve heard so far. Lots of stuff about making soft food and potty training… not a whole lot about personal growth,” Shining pondered.

“You know, I actually have a story about that particular lesson,” Jeremy began.

“Go on,” Shining urged eagerly.

“I was just six at the time, and my family was out camping for… well, it probably wasn’t the first time, but it was the earliest time I really remember, and that’s just because of this memory. See, my parents had told me not to touch a fire, or something burning. They said it would hurt, and I’d be sorry. But, me being six, and curious about just about everything in existence, I wanted to see if they were right. So, I took a stick from the woods, and lit the end on fire, and waited until it had turned white with ash,” Jeremy reminisced.

“You touched it, didn’t you!” Shining laughed, and Jeremy laughed right along with him.

“Oh, yeah. It stung. Even though my parents had already warned me a million times, that’s when I really learned: ‘Fire is hot.’”

Shining Armor mulled over this for a moment. “Huh. I guess that is a good example.”

He was about to say something else, but was interrupted by a soft laugh from below Jeremy. Chrysalis was awake, watching the pair of them converse and stifling giggles of her own. “You really touched a burning branch, just to see if it would hurt?” she teased Jeremy.

“Hey, nobody said I was a very smart six-year-old,” Jeremy defended, laughing.

Chrysalis laughed with him a moment more, then turned her neck to look at Shining. “How much longer until we leave?” she asked.

“About five in the afternoon. Sombra’s gotten so many requests to copy his musical notes, even the royal scribe’s office has pitched in to help,” Shining explained, rolling his eyes.

Jeremy snorted. “Serves him right for being a famous musician,” he joked, and Shining burst out laughing.

“Alright, I’m heading to lunch. See you two later!” he called, exiting the room.

“Jeremy?” Chrysalis asked, as soon as he was gone.

“Yeah?” Jeremy replied, gazing down at her contentedly.

“Can you tell me about your family?” Chrysalis softly asked.

Jeremy froze, looking down at her suspiciously. “Why do you want to know about that?” he asked cautiously.

“I-It’s okay! You don’t have to, I just… I just now realized I know almost nothing about you. Your past, your… life growing up. When you said all that stuff about how a kid needs to learn things, it just… made me wonder, is all,” Chrysalis hurriedly explained.

Jeremy looked at her a moment longer, then huffed a sigh. “Alright. And since this is probably going to get out sometime or later, I’m not going to block this conversation from the drones.”

“My mom was… strict. She was the opposite of that advice I just gave Shining – always preventing me from making my own mistakes, from learning. From growing up. The way she raged sometimes, you’d think I was already an adult, making dumb mistakes that she would have to deal with. And that’s not even half of what my bro got.”

Chrysalis’ jaw dropped. “You have a brother?” she asked in shock.

Jeremy snorted. “Yeah. He’s… well, he’s alright, as far as brothers go. We had a lot of sibling rivalry, growing up, but we get along now. Heh. One of the major things that brought us together was trying to avoid Mom’s wrath. I was always the more obedient one… not that it did me much good.”

“I remember one time, maybe I was like… ten? Somewhere around that age. Anyway, I was ten, and my bro was eleven, and one day we were tasked with sorting all the quarters in Mom’s collector’s book. There’s a different one for every state in our country, and two different mints the coins could come from, so there were something like a hundred possible categories any given quarter could belong in. Looking back, it might have been some kind of learning exercise – something about sorting, maybe. At the time, neither me nor my bro could see the point in bothering to sort through the massive pile Mom had. They were just quarters, not even worth much. So we ignored that, and watched TV instead. Well… bro watched TV. I read a book,” Jeremy laughed. He stopped laughing quickly, though, a frown appearing. “Course, when Mom came home, she went ballistic. Started screaming about how we were lazy and selfish, and throwing quarters at us, then she sent us both to bed.” Chrysalis stared at him, and Jeremy looked away.

“That was a pretty common occurrence. We’d fail to do something trivial, not seeing the point, and Mom would flip out and tell us that it was critical we accomplish such-and-such task, that it would determine our entire lives. That was her favorite word: ‘Critical.’ I… I grew to hate that word,” Jeremy admitted. “It wasn’t like we were being lazy, at least, I don’t think so. Her ‘top priority’ was an endless series of tasks, building themselves upon themselves until the original goal had been obscured by countless, pointless mini-objectives. As soon as one task ended, another started, and it got to the point where I was doing seven things at once and it still wasn’t enough. Any time we slipped up, or didn’t perform to her impossible standards, she’d scream at us that we were ruining our lives, and that she’d worked so hard to get us where we were and we were throwing all that hard work away,” Jeremy remembered, scowling. He mused for a moment. “She was probably doing stuff behind the scenes. Scheduling stuff, paying for stuff, all the things we couldn’t possibly do as kids. Still… it was too much to handle, for me. For anyone.”

Chrysalis swallowed nervously. “But… there were good times, right? She did love you, in the end, right?” she asked.

Jeremy laughed coldly. “Hardly. To her, I was an object, not a person. I was a tool, made to accomplish a goal. Tools aren’t supposed to have sentience, Chrysalis. Or emotions. I quickly learned that no matter how much I cried or stressed, she was indifferent. She’d threaten me in a heartbeat if she thought it would bring her closer to whatever it was she wanted me to become.”

Chrysalis blinked, a lone tear running down her face. “What were you supposed to become?” she whispered.

Jeremy shrugged. “A functioning adult? A miniature copy of her? No idea. Whatever it was, I rejected it.”

“For a while, I… lost all emotion. I was in middle school around that time, and… it was some of my darkest days,” Jeremy remembered, shuddering slightly. “I was just… oh, hell, I was evil. I was careless, cruel, heartless even. I bullied, I stole, lied, betrayed, cheated, and… well, if I had continued down that trail, I would have ended up like the many sociopaths who came before me,” Jeremy sighed.

“And Sam saved you,” Chrysalis murmured.

“Yeah, he – wait. When did you hear about that?” Jeremy asked, surprised.

“You… mentioned a little of this to Celestia. Something about how you’d have gladly killed a lot of humans for reasons that didn’t really matter,” Chrysalis nervously explained. “Right… that. Yeah, that seems about right. And then… well, Sam was different. He was the first to treat me like… well, like a person. Not a machine, obligated to perform optimized routines and never to deviate from the path that had been picked out for it by higher powers. And… I realized just how far I had fallen down. It wasn’t immediate, I wasn’t always perfect, but… he didn’t stop. He listened, and he taught me how to be human again.” Jeremy wiped some tears away with his shirt sleeve. He sighed. “That’s the real reason I spare everyone I meet. Every time I see them being so thoughtlessly cruel, it’s like looking in a mirror and seeing myself, all those years before. And I’m terrified of that reflection, Chrysalis. I’m terrified of what might have become of me, had Sam not intervened.”

Chrysalis was restlessly shifting her hooves, looking nervous. “I… it’s not your fault, you’re not in trouble, but I have to go!” she declared, before getting up and flying out of the room as quickly as she could.

Jeremy, taken aback, stared at the doorway for a moment. “But… what?” he stuttered. Had he just ruined his relationship with her? Ruined everything? He brought out the LOAD SAVE button, frantically trying to decide if he should go back or not. Deciding to get more information, he hurriedly leaped out of bed, got dressed, and sprinted out the doorway, easily knocking aside a very confused Brayden as he bolted after his love.

Eight flights of stairs and several rammed doorways later, he was outside, and crystal ponies were staring in shock as the king of changelings ran as though Death itself were chasing him. Where was she? Where was she? He sent out a probe with his crown, only to find that she was at Thorax’s house. Why was she there? Regardless, he dashed off down the nearest street that led there. Jeremy had no idea what he’d done, but he was determined to fix it. He was not losing the one thing that kept him going, not without an explanation. If he’d made some kind of mistake, he had to learn what it was.

He found Thorax’s house with little effort, drawn to it like a magnet. He raised a hand to knock, and thought better of it, simply wrenching open the stone door and stepping into the hallway.

“Chrysalis?” he asked, before something large and green slammed into him from above.

“She’s not leaving you. It’s okay. Don’t be upset, you haven’t done anything wrong,” a voice whispered in his ear.

“T-Thorax?!” Jeremy queried, completely lost at this turn of events. Parsing what the larger changeling had said, Jeremy looked at him with a frown. “Then… what just…”

Thorax sighed. “Come see,” he answered, gesturing with a hoof for Jeremy to follow.

He found Chrysalis in the living room, giving what appeared to be the most frantic cuddle session in history to some very confused and somewhat terrified changelings. “-And I promise that I love you with all my heart, even if I’m terrible at showing it, even if I hurt you, I didn’t mean it for a second and I never will again-“ Chrysalis gibbered, tears streaming down her eyes as she held five grown changelings at once in an inescapable bear hug.

Something clicked in Jeremy’s head, and at last his shoulders slumped, the adrenaline leaving him as he understood. Gently, he reached over and pried Chrysalis’ hooves off of their iron embrace around her children.

“You are not her,” he declared.

Shocked, Chrysalis looked up at him. “I-I’m not? But we’re exactly the same! I’m a monster who drove her children to be emotionless slaves! I was little more than a taskmistress, a hateful queen that they couldn’t trust or love! I-“ Chrysalis began, but Jeremy leaned over and kissed her.

She immediately broke away. “But I was!” she persisted.

Jeremy nodded. “And there’s your keyword: was.”

Chrysalis glared at him. “That doesn’t help! I already did all this damage, who knows how badly I’ve messed some of them up-“

“We know,” Jeremy reminded her. “The hivemind couldn’t hide someone who was as far gone as I was – we’d know. We’d know immediately. Soulless people like that can only hide their emotions on the surface – anyone who looked any deeper would have found that something was terribly wrong. I don’t think any of our changelings are going down that path, Chrysalis,” Jeremy insisted. He paused for thought. “Well… except one. The old King. He’s going to need a lot of rehabilitation when he comes back.”

The changelings around him looked at eachother worriedly. “Do you think… he can be saved?” one hesitantly asked.

Jeremy looked at her, and she immediately looked as though she’d regretted speaking. Jeremy simply sighed. “If I was saved, anyone can be saved,” was his only response.

“Well… when we get home… I’m still going to let everyling know I’m going to be better. I… I won’t allow… wouldn’t want to give them the impression that I was… that I didn’t care about them,” Chrysalis admitted.

Jeremy took her hoof. “I’m proud of you, honey. You’ve come a long way already, and you’re still fighting to improve yourself at every step. Some might have given up at this point, you know?”

Chrysalis gave him a small smile. “Well, if there’s one thing you and I have always had, it’s perserverance,” she weakly joked.

Jeremy grinned. “Our greatest strength and weakness, all in one. For better or worse, we never give up.”

They returned to the castle, only to find Sam, Cadance and Celestia waiting for them, along with a gaggle of very awkward and apologetic changelings.

“Um. Jeremy? Every changeling in the city started crying around the same time a few minutes ago. We know you guys are all ‘telepathic’ and everything, so, um… what the heck happened?” Sam asked.

Jeremy sighed. “I told them about my tragic backstory,” he answered, rolling his eyes, and Sam winced.

“Ooh. That would indeed explain it,” he agreed.

“Tragic backstory?” Cadance asked, and Jeremy shook his head.

“Sorry, Cadance, but I… I don’t think I’m up to repeating myself. Once was enough for today. Sorry,” he repeated.

“Oh! That’s okay, I didn’t mean to pry,” Cadance apologized.

“So, apart from that, I’m about ready to head out. Where’s Sombra?” Jeremy asked.

“Still at the printing office. Last I heard, they’ve distributed eight thousand copies and counting,” Sam answered with a snort.

Jeremy smiled. “Well, at least he’s being productive.”

The other humans gathered without incident, and they boarded the train. Jeremy said almost nothing the whole time – he felt exhausted, both from running a while ago and from his recent emotional roller-coaster. Sombra arrived almost as the gates closed, handing out copies of his song the whole way and grinning like a lunatic.

“Hey, why aren’t Shining Armor and Princess Cadance getting on?” Avery noticed.

“They’re staying behind. They’ve got a kid to raise, and they seem to think I can handle myself out in the world,” Jeremy explained, speaking up for the first time since the other humans had arrived.

Shining Armor and Cadance waved at them as the train rolled out of the station, Sombra just barely jumping aboard in time. Flurry was ‘waving’ too, her hoof held up by Shining’s magic as she burbled at the leaving train. Jeremy smiled and waved back at the three of them until they were out of sight, and then gazed at the receding Crystal Kingdom.

“So, how long does this train take to get to Canterlot?” Jeremy asked Celestia, sitting in the main compartment.

“About a full day,” Celestia answered, addressing the rest of the group as well. “There are beds suitable for your size should you wish to rest, and meals will be brought to you at the regular times.”

“How come the beds are the right size for us?” Avery asked suspiciously.

“Well, to be more specific, they are the right size for me. This is the Royal section of the train, and it is designed so that my sister and I or Princess Cadance could have comfortable rest while traveling,” Celestia explained.

Avery hummed in thought at this, but said nothing more.

After a while, Jeremy had resorted to napping in one such bed. Chrysalis had gone off to do something else, and the other humans were either resting as well or playing a card game they had found. The ponies were all playing the card game, and those changelings that had accompanied them on the train were busy exploring the new, fast thing they were on – though Jeremy and Chrysalis had warned them not to exit through the windows or doors, lest they get badly hurt.

A knock sounded at his door, and he drowsily turned over. “Come on in,” he slurred, blinking owlishly at the light he’d been trying to ignore for the better part of four hours now. To his surprise, the changeling that came in was not one he recognized. They were like Thorax, but… darker. Darker green carapace, darker red antlers, and a purple shell instead of Thorax’s red. It took Jeremy a moment to remember who this was.

“Pharynx, right? Thorax’s brother?” he asked, and Pharynx nodded.

“Do I have a soul?” he asked bluntly.

“What?” Jeremy asked, now sitting up to face him fully.

“I don’t… I think I’m like… I think I’m soulless,” Pharynx admitted. “I was the only changeling not to change after Thorax did his thing, and I still don’t feel as in touch with my feelings as others, and I just want to hurt things to protect the Hive because that’s all I know how to do, and… am I a monster?” he repeated quietly, beginning to tear up. Jeremy sighed – he got the feeling this was going to be a recurring theme. He picked Pharynx up with little effort, depositing him on his lap.

“Pharynx, you’re not a monster. And I’m not just saying that to make you feel better – you’re not. Know how I can tell?” he asked quietly.

Pharynx shook his head, either unable or unwilling to look at him. “How?” he asked, sniffling.

“Because you’re crying,” Jeremy answered, and Pharynx finally looked up at him in shock.

“W-what?”

Jeremy smiled. “The difference between you and a real monster is that real monsters don’t cry. They can’t cry – at least, not really. If you can feel sadness, you’ve still got as much of a soul as anyone else. It’s okay, Pharynx. You’re okay.”

Pharynx sniffled for a moment more, then looked at him. “T-tell nobody of this,” he demanded.

Jeremy nodded, smiling. “Wouldn’t dream of it,” he promised. Pharynx, looking at him strangely, huffed a sigh after a moment and scuffled off of his lap, sitting up next to him.

“I… Is this a ‘feelings forum’? Thorax used to hold those, and I never attended long enough to get it, but they always looked something like this,” Pharynx asked.

Jeremy shrugged. “Same general idea, sure. Why?”

Pharynx looked away. “I… well, I called everyling who attended those things ‘losers,’ and now here I am… doing the same. Hypocrisy at its finest,” he muttered.

Jeremy laughed. “That’s not hypocrisy, Pharynx!” he chuckled.

“No? Then what is it?” Pharynx asked, looking at him skeptically.

“That’s learning,” Jeremy answered, still laughing.

Pharynx didn’t answer, instead looking at the foot of the bed. “So, you spare everyone you meet because they remind you of how you used to be?” he asked.

Jeremy immediately stopped laughing, a sobering frown replacing his mirth. “Yeah…” he admitted.

Pharynx grinned. “Gotta admit, that’s pretty dark. Not what I expected from the so-called ‘Element of Love.’”

Jeremy snorted. “If you’d seen half of what I’ve seen, you’d know that that kind of stuff is too edgy to discuss in public. Hence why I keep it under wraps most of the time.”

Pharynx raised an eyebrow at him. “What’s ‘edgy’?” he asked curiously.

“Stuff that’s dark just to be dark. Shock-value stuff, that’s thrown in there for no better reason than to make you reel backward, just for a moment,” Jeremy scoffed.

Pharynx laughed. “So stuff I’d probably find pretty entertaining. Send me some ‘edgy’ stuff from Earth when you visit, will you?” he asked, and Jeremy chuckled again despite himself.

“Okay… but don’t say I didn’t warn you,” he replied ominously.

They sat there for a moment in silence, Jeremy watching the train go by as Pharynx watched him.

“Is sparing others hard?” Pharynx asked, and Jeremy instantly nodded.

“Hardest thing I’ve ever done. Thing is, almost nobody wants to be spared, not at first. The first, and arguably the hardest half of the battle is getting them to figure that part out on their own.”

Pharynx nodded glumly. “Thorax tried to do that with me. He tried for years, and only just a year ago he succeeded.”

Jeremy hummed in agreement. “Sometimes it takes a while. ‘Course, the end result is always worth it, so it’s always a worthwhile investment of time,” he agreed. He frowned as he suddenly thought of something. “Pharynx, does Thorax know you’re on the train? I’d hate for you two to get separated just because you needed some reassurance, it’s a long way back to the Crystal Kingdom,” he asked.

“Separated? He’s on the train, too,” Pharynx answered, looking at him strangely.

“What do you mean, he’s on the train? Isn’t he looking after his hive?” Jeremy asked, beginning to worry.

“No, they’re on the train as well. Every changeling that was in the Crystal Empire is now on this train,” Pharynx answered semi-patiently.

“…Oh. Well, as long as we’re all together,” Jeremy muttered.

“He was pretty torn up about moving – got a lot of love for it, though. Promised to write each and every crystal pony he knew once a month,” Pharynx snorted.

“Huh. Well, he won’t be far, at least for a while. The Hive’s temporarily relocated to Canterlot to stay close to Chrysalis and I,” Jeremy mused.

“The whole hive’s in Canterlot?” Pharynx asked in surprise.

Jeremy nodded.

“And nopony’s freaking out about it?” Pharynx continued, the skepticism in his voice having returned with reinforcements.

Jeremy shrugged. “Celestia made a few announcements, and everypony seems fairly cool with it now.”

Pharynx snorted incredulously. “Maybe Thorax is on to something after all. Last I checked, a changeling couldn’t even cross the border without getting spotted and deported.”

Jeremy raised an eyebrow. “Speaking of which. You wouldn’t happen to know about any old, abandoned changeling cities or hives, would you? We’re gonna get started on that whole archaeological dig as soon as we can, after all.”

Pharynx thought. “Well, the only other location that every changeling knows is the Pool, and that’s off-limits to all but royalty and the hatchery nurses. Um… there is the old location of the Hive, during Avicularia’s reign, but it was burnt to the ground. That’s about when we started using magic stone rather than our own products for our hives,” Pharynx explained, rolling his compound eyes.

“Well, we’re supposed to be looking back a bit farther than the known nine queens, so…” Jeremy trailed off.

“Right, right. This ‘Queen Diligita.’ I’m pretty sure every changeling in Thorax’s little gaggle has read that dumb book by now,” Pharynx scoffed.

“What do you think about its story?” Jeremy asked.

Pharynx sighed. “I agree with you that the windigo started the war on purpose. That just makes sense in too many ways to ignore. But personally, I think that Diligita was a moron. Working with a species that fed on hatred, and another that fed on distrust? That’s just asking to get betrayed, it’s how they live,” Pharynx snorted.

Jeremy pondered this, frowning. “Sombra’s a member of one of those species, and he’s become as good as any of us,” he pointed out.

Pharynx grinned. “Oh? Did I insult one of your friends? What’cha gonna do about it, King?”

Jeremy gazed at him for a moment, then grinned right back. “Oh, nothing,” he nonchalantly replied.

“That’s what I thought. You’re all so soft-“

“Yet.”

“W-what?” Pharynx stammered, scooting away as Jeremy continued to grin at him evilly. Then, he burst out laughing.

“I can tell you’re trying to test me, Pharynx. Give me a little credit.”

Pharynx appeared taken aback for a moment, surveying him in a new light. “You’re not the sap I took you for,” he noted quietly.

“I never stopped being intelligent once I started being good,” Jeremy scoffed.

“Hmph. Well, yeah, I was. Trying to see what you’d do if you actually got mad,” Pharynx reluctantly explained.

Jeremy shrugged. “Give it some time, I’m sure we can find something that makes me angry. Like unreasonably violent sports. Or the judicial process. Or SAM!” he called out, as Sam was walking by that very moment.

“What?” Sam asked, poking his head through the door.

“You’re makin’ me very cross!” Jeremy warned in a distinct Scottish accent.

Sam stared at him for a moment, then kept walking, his laughter fading as he entered his own compartment.

Pharynx, meanwhile, was laughing as well, boisterously slamming a large hoof against the thankfully well-padded bedspread. “You can be funny, too! I might actually enjoy working under you,” he joked once he had calmed down.

“I’d hope so – if I’m going to teach Celestia how not to be a boring politician, I’d better not start being one myself. That would be hypocrisy,” Jeremy laughed.

“So… speaking of which. Thorax is now Sort-Of-But-Not-Really-King. Where does that leave me?” Pharynx asked seriously.

Jeremy shrugged. “Well, as it stands now, our military is kind of… nonexistent. We’ve had to drive off a few maulwurfs since I arrived – much less than normal, according to my Guards – but that’s about it. You know, on account of the whole ‘pacifist’ thing I make a point of shoving down everyone’s throats,” Jeremy sarcastically reminded him.

“Right, right. That. You ever fought a maulwurf?” Pharynx asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Not yet, but with how things seem to work here, give it a week or so,” Jeremy answered.

“My advice to you is to confuse their sense of smell somehow. Dirt in the nose works pretty well. They also don’t like bright light too much,” Pharynx lectured.

“Huh. Good to know,” Jeremy answered.

When Chrysalis stepped into the car a full two hours later, Jeremy and Pharynx were still trading combat tips. “-And she does know how to do homing attacks. Combined with the fireballs, lava and lasers, it generally wasn’t something I’d advise getting into,” Jeremy pretended to warn Pharynx, who chuckled.

“How’s it going, you two?” Chrysalis asked, flopping into the bed across from them.

“Pretty good! Just getting to know our new captain of the Changeling Guard,” Jeremy answered.

Pharynx raised an eyebrow at Chrysalis. “That okay with you, Queenie? It’s not like I was ever fired, so…” the olive-colored changeling trailed off intentionally.

Chrysalis surveyed him seriously. “Avoid the pet nicknames, and I might consider it,” she retorted.

“If you say so… Queenie,” Pharynx snorted.

Queen Chrysalis looked at him for a moment, unamused.

Pharynx looked back, maintaining his smug demeanor.

“Jeremy?” Chrysalis asked after a moment of locked eyes.

“Yes?” Jeremy sighed.

“How fast is this train moving?”

Jeremy looked out the window and did a rough calculation. “Maybe… a hundred miles an hour? Hard to say,” he finally answered.

“And knowing that high-velocity impacts do little damage to us changelings, how inconvenient would you say getting tossed off said train would be?” Chrysalis asked, grinning deviously at Pharynx.

Pharynx paled, which roughly meant his face had become the color of Thorax’s.

“Well, he’d have to either catch up with the train or fly after it all the way to Canterlot… both of which would be incredibly exhausting and a good lesson in discipline,” Jeremy mused, smiling at Pharynx as well.

“Now, now…” Pharynx nervously spoke up. “Let’s not get too hasty, Queen Chrysalis…”

Chrysalis grinned at him, showing all thirty-one of her sharp fangs. “If you’re going to banter, Pharynx, you had better be prepared for the consequences. My King might have let you down easy, but I don’t see why I should.”

Pharynx hesitantly chuckled. “Fair enough, my Queen. Er, if you’ll excuse me, I think Thorax is being entirely too playful and he’s just begging for my immediate intervention bye!” the burly changeling concluded, hastily exiting.

Chrysalis, watching him go, burst into a fit of giggling. “You were surprisingly aggressive towards him,” she commented.

Jeremy shrugged. “Part of making friends is learning to speak their language. Pharynx is a naturally aggressive changeling, I’m not gonna force him to be anything else.”

Chrysalis snorted. “He was one of the few changelings I found amusing to talk to, before all this,” she agreed.

“Can’t imagine why,” Jeremy snarked, and she giggled louder. “Anyway, Thorax and his hive will be rejoining ours fully as soon as we all arrive.”

She crossed the room, hopping onto his bed and laying across his lap like a cat. “How have you been, honey? This whole thing must have been exhausting on you,” she murmured.

Jeremy sighed, laying down, and she obediently adjusted her position so that they were cuddling properly. “It’s… well, it’s been about the usual for my life lately. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine,” he dismissed, rubbing her head.

“Hopefully things will settle down soon…” Chrysalis fretted, nipping at a stray lock of hair on his head and setting it back in place.

“Yeah…” Jeremy mumbled, closing his eyes in comfort.

“…Honey?” Chrysalis asked nervously after a moment.

“Mm?” Jeremy hummed back.

“When I ran off, I know you were scared of losing me, and I just want to say I won’t ever leave you for who you were,” Chrysalis murmured. “But… if you were scared that you’d done something wrong… why didn’t you just go back and undo it?” she asked falteringly.

Jeremy didn’t respond for a moment, but he did open his eyes to look at her. “I thought… that would be rude,” he finally answered. “To just go back and undo the whole exchange, like I had some kind of right to a relationship with you that supersedes your own opinions… that would just be… well, it’s not the kind of person I want to be,” he confessed.

Chrysalis appeared surprised at this, but then nuzzled happily into the nape of his neck. “You’re too good to me,” she muttered. “I wouldn’t even have known!”

Jeremy smiled sadly. “I would have.”

Chapter 16

They awoke hours later to find that night had fallen, and Luna was peeking in on them.

“Oh, my. I hope I didn’t interrupt anything,” she declared, surveying their tangled, sleeping forms with some amusement.

“Hwha…?” Jeremy answered intelligently, sitting up and blearily rubbing his eyes.

Unfortunately, moving his arms caused Chrysalis’ head to fall to the pillow, and she awoke with a snort, looking around wildly before remembering where she was.

Luna was by now furiously trying to stifle giggles, as she beheld their antics. “You know, any nap longer than about fifteen minutes is awful for your sleep schedule,” she lectured before stepping out into the hallway, leaving them to wake up fully.

“Wanna skip dinner…?” Jeremy drowsily asked.

“Already ate… wanna sleep…” Chrysalis groaned, rolling over to escape the lamplight.

Jeremy’s belly rumbled with amusement, and he replaced the covers over the two of them, cuddling close to Chrysalis once more.

He once more awoke in the field of flowers, but this time he was in a different place. The large, many-petaled black and green flower was nowhere in sight, and his back was against something. He got up, stretching slightly, and looked around. Behind him was the Tree of Harmony, exactly the same as it had been when he first encountered it. The jewels set into its trunk were glimmering with an inner fire, even in the ‘daylight’ of this strange dream world, and the boughs glistened as though coated in morning dew. One of its branches, the one pointing almost directly upwards, looked strangely swollen compared to the last time he had seen it. Jeremy looked around for something to do – surely there had to be some reason he kept coming back here? He turned back to the Tree of Harmony. Supposedly, the Elements at least had some form of intelligence – the white alicorn told him last time that ‘Loyalty’ didn’t like being touched.

“Where do I go?” he asked them.

It was still a bit silly that he was conversing with six crystals, but this was a dream. For a moment, neither the tree nor the Elements responded. Then, a beam of light shot out of Magic, before ‘solidifying’ into a steady purple laser. Jeremy glanced at this in mild surprise, then looked back at Magic.

“Okay, thanks,” he contentedly replied, and set off in that direction.

An unknown amount of time spent walking later, the laser ended, simply terminating in thin air as though something were blocking it. Jeremy looked down at the flowers in this area. They were black, with green petals, but not like the larger one he had seen – these were all separate flowers. He leaned down to examine one, and touched it. It stiffened, petals initially shying away from his touch, and then slowly, almost cautiously, returned to its former position. Jeremy reached out to touch it again, and though it quivered, it didn’t move away. He gently stroked a petal, wondering what the relation was to the giant flower he had seen earlier. Was this one related? A different type of the same flower, maybe? As he touched this new flower, an image flashed through his mind – a dilapidated, brown stone palace, destroyed beyond all recognition and deep inside a cave. Before he could ruminate on this further, his world went white.

Jeremy woke up again to find Chrysalis still asleep, and gently chewing on his arm, a slightly disgruntled expression on her slumbering face. Grinning, Jeremy gently extricated his arm and kissed her on the forehead, before restlessly exiting his bed.

He found Luna and Nightmare Moon together in one room, viewing the stars. “-sure that humans doth dream? Verily, we hath only seen one dream of his, and we hadst forced it into being. Lately… we couldst not even find his dreaming self,” Nightmare Moon was saying.

“I’ve both viewed and entered Sam’s dreams without difficulty. While I have not entered the other humans’ dreams, and they do show some remarkable differences to pony dreams, I have at least been able to view them in the dreamscape,” Luna replied.

Jeremy quickly exited, eavesdropping by the door – he didn’t think they had heard him…

“But if he doth not dream… where doth he go when asleep…?” Nightmare Moon mused.

Luna snorted. “Somewhere beyond my domain, that is for certain. I have taken to searching every night for his dreams, with little luck.”

Jeremy had heard enough, and quietly made for the main compartment.

There, he found Thorax and a few other changelings cuddled up, sleeping as well. Jeremy had to admit, Thorax’s normally strong-looking form looked adorable when he was snuggling with other changelings. Avery was there as well, working on something.

“Still writing your story?” Jeremy asked quietly, and Avery jumped about a foot into the air, hurriedly covering up a few papers. Jeremy caught a glimpse of writing and what appeared to be a drawing of a heart, but was unable to make out any more specifics.

“Uh… yeah. It’s a major plot point, so I didn’t want to spoil it for anyone yet,” Avery answered, quickly stuffing the papers back into a backpack he had carried with him.

Jeremy looked at him suspiciously, but was still too drowsy to question it, and instead took a seat across from Avery, staring out at the moonlight. They stared at the beautiful night sky in silence, Luna’s moon softly illuminating the otherwise dark main compartment of the train.

“Is it hard, being a King?” Avery asked after a moment.

Jeremy took a moment to ponder this. “I… I think I got off easy, to be honest. There’s no bureaucratic organization I have to deal with, no economics to speak of, and all of my attempts at ‘politics’ so far have involved dealing with other nations’ royalty and their... problems.”

Avery hummed in thought. “What do you do, if not pass trade laws and judge citizens?” he wondered, clearly half-joking.

Jeremy smirked. “Snuggles, mostly. Snuggles and defending the kingdom.”

Avery chuckled quietly. “Snuggles?” he asked incredulously.

Jeremy blushed slightly, looking away. “I’m apparently the best source of food they’ve ever had, so… technically I’m also the breadwinner for the entire kingdom? It’s a very difficult and important job, Avery!” he pretended to defend, and Avery chuckled louder, falling silent a moment later as he apparently remembered that others were sleeping.

Another silence passed between them, though it was more drowsy than awkward. Jeremy stared at the couch cushion, mesmerized by the patterns stitched onto it as the train car shook around them.

“What’s it like, battling… well, villains?” Avery asked, once again breaking the silence.

“What do you mean?” Jeremy asked, curiously lifting his head again to gaze at Avery.

“Well… what do you experience when you’re fighting? Do you get ‘bullet time’, or what?” Avery wondered.

Ah, he must be collecting details for a fight scene in his story, Jeremy realized. “Well… it’s not exactly ‘bullet time,’ but I become a lot more… spatially aware,” he answered after a moment. It wasn’t technically a lie: the ‘bullet board’ that appeared whenever he started fighting someone allowed him to see all forms of attack happening around him.

“Anything else?” Avery asked, intrigued.

“Uh… well, whenever I get injured, it doesn’t really… hurt anymore,” Jeremy continued, wondering how much of his strange game world he was willing to reveal to his fellow Element.

“How so?” Avery asked.

“Well, I guess I’ve just kind of gotten used to it,” Jeremy mused. He could have sworn he saw a brief moment of triumph on Avery’s face, but it might have been a trick of the moonlight.

“Huh. Pain tolerance is a thing, then?” Avery asked curiously, and Jeremy shrugged.

“Apparently.” With nothing else to say, they went back to staring at the night sky.

A while later, Jeremy returned to bed, as Avery kept staring at him when he thought Jeremy wasn’t looking. He supposed he stood out a bit, even among the other six aliens in this land, but it was still creepy. Chrysalis was still asleep, though she was shivering with cold – Jeremy had forgotten to replace the blanket when he left. He quickly clambered into bed, wrapping the blanket and his arms around her, and she smiled at the renewed warmth. Jeremy drifted off again, wondering if he’d visit the flower world once more.

To his dismay, he awoke almost immediately to find sunlight streaming through the windows. Chrysalis was already up, and balancing a tray of breakfast in her magic. When she saw him awake, she smiled and laid it down on top of his torso.

“I heard your stomach growling in your sleep,” she explained, levitating utensils over as Jeremy gratefully dug in.

“Thanks…” he mumbled sleepily after a moment.

“We’re almost in Canterlot, we’re traveling up the mountain right now. The others wanted me to wake you for a meeting, but I decided to bring you breakfast first,” Chrysalis informed him, watching him eat with a satisfied smile.

“At least somebody’s got their priorities straight,” Jeremy joked. He finished rapidly, and Chrysalis set the tray on the bedstand as the two of them headed for the main carriage.

“About time,” Nick called as soon as they entered.

“Nick, I will have my beauty sleep no matter what you say,” Jeremy immediately retorted, joining the rest of the humans who were sitting in a circle in the center of the room.

“We were discussing our plans for the future. I proposed that because training you to use your Elements has… well, become more or less redundant, that you be left to your own devices until such time as you believe you are ready to face the challenges on Earth,” Celestia brought him up to speed. She was still combing her pink, shortened hair, wincing every time her comb hit a snag.

“I rebutted that we don’t know what we need in order to fix Earth, so the timescale on that ‘readiness’ could be anything from right the heck now to a few years down the line,” Sam added.

Jeremy shrugged. “What’s the hurry? Last I checked, we’ve got at least three experienced time-travelers in the room. If picking up where we left off is that much of an issue, we can just figure out how to reenter our universe at the appropriate time.”

Avery raised his hand. “Um, question. Who’s the third time-traveler?”

Jeremy stiffened as he realized his unintentional slip-up. Man, I am terrible at this, he chastised himself, hurriedly searching for an excuse. “Haven’t you time-traveled in the past?” he asked Celestia, who shook her head.

“I can’t say I have. Wherever did you hear that?”

Jeremy shrugged again, a bit quicker this time. “Dunno, just thought I… read about it somewhere. Two time travelers, then.”

Starlight snorted. “Two’s all we need, really. I’ve done enough modification to that time-traveling spell that I can probably adapt it to the portal spell Celestia used back in the Crystal Kingdom.”

Twilight looked at her, mildly impressed. “And you’re sure the spells will mesh appropriately?” she asked skeptically.

Starlight rolled her eyes. “Oh, here we go,” she muttered.

“What? Magical safety is critical when mixing two unicorns’ magic, you know that!” Twilight lectured.

Chrysalis looked at Jeremy worriedly, but his only reaction was a slight twitch of the arm. “Back on topic, you two,” he called out, and Starlight and Twilight hastily got out of each other’s faces and back in the circle.

“Sorry. Um, yeah, we’ll work that out when we get to it. So… if the humans aren’t learning about friendship, then what will they be doing?” Starlight asked Celestia.

The solar princess gave Jeremy a knowing look. “To clarify, my earlier strategy was to attempt to force as many friendship lessons into as short a time as possible, in order to get you humans more quickly prepared for your destiny. However, upon further reflection, I believe that the best path would be to let the lessons come to you, much like your previous work with the Journal of Friendship,” Celestia nodded at Twilight.

“Does this mean we can finally head back to Ponyville? I can’t wait to get back on the farm,” Applejack exclaimed in relief.

“And I can finally show all the humans my awesome house!” Rainbow boasted.

“And I can throw a ‘Welcome-to-Ponyville’ party for them! Again!” Pinkie squealed, hopping up on Brayden’s shoulders.

“Did I miss the first one?” Jeremy asked, disappointed.

Cory nodded. “You were out cold in the hospital and also possibly dead, so… yeah.”

Jeremy grimaced, but said nothing more.

Luna cleared her throat, evidently intending to resume the discussion. “We also decided on this for a few more reasons. For starters, we’re aware that the changelings are eager to discover their lost history, and in the spirit of mutual scientific interest, we are allowing Jeremy and his changelings to lead the expedition, wherever it may take them. We will also be providing scholars of our own to assist as needed.”

“That’s… quite some trouble to go through,” Jeremy noted with some surprise.

Luna snorted. “The mystery of Pacem was one of the hottest research topics in my time. I am frustrated to see that it still has not been solved.” Jeremy chuckled at her grumpy expression.

“Well, we’ll try our best to find some answers. Speaking of which, that definitely sounds like an adventure. Anyone wanna come with?” he asked.

“Count me in,” Sam immediately answered, fistbumping Jeremy.

“Well, if Glorious Leader is going…” Nick snarked, and Starlight flinched.

“We have to go now, splitting up would just be dumb,” Cory pointed out exasperatedly.

“Anyone want to stay? Don’t be shy, we’ll manage with or without anyone who needs to stay behind,” Sam offered. Nobody volunteered, and after a while he shrugged. “Guess that settles it, we’re all going. Hope you know how to teach archaeology, Jeremy,” he ribbed.

Jeremy rolled his eyes. “I used to hunt for gems and fossils. Pretty sure archaeology is gonna be pretty similar,” he replied nonchalantly.

A well-groomed conductor mare poked her head through the doorway to their compartment. “Now arriving in Canterlot! Please be ready to disembark!” she announced before ducking her head back through the door and vanishing.

“Well, you’ll certainly have plenty of help if you need it,” Celestia continued, ignoring the interruption.

“We should have asked some of the umbra before they left,” Sombra muttered.

Jeremy shrugged. “Maybe we can open a portal to send some letters?” he suggested.

“I could do that,” Celestia agreed.

A short while later, they had successfully navigated the busy train station and returned to the Secret Hallway, where Jeremy flopped onto his bed.

“Hoo boy… it’s good to be back,” he murmured.

“Best not to rest too long, honey, we’ve got a big day ahead of us,” Chrysalis yawned, jumping up to snuggle with him. “Yeah… just five minutes, I wanna get used to this bed again…” he mumbled, already drifting off.

Several hours later, Jeremy awoke to find Chrysalis gently shaking him and kissing him on the forehead.

“I’m up,” he mumbled contentedly, grinning as Chrysalis ignored him and continued to plant smooches on his face as she pleased. He retaliated by interrupting one of her attempts with a smooch of his own, their lips meeting in the middle as Jeremy triumphantly smiled at her.

“How long was I out?” he asked curiously, instinctively looking out the window.

“It’s about noon, so a few hours. I let you sleep while I got everything ready,” Chrysalis answered.

“Weird…” Jeremy muttered. He hadn’t visited the flower world this time. Nor, now that he thought of it, had he had any dreams at all. He threw on his trademark black-and-white striped sweater, and followed Chrysalis back out into the palace.

Once there, he was surprised to find several of both his and Thorax’s changelings waiting for them, eager smiles on their faces, as well as Thorax, the other humans, and a familiar face.

“…A.K. Yearling?” Jeremy queried in some surprise, as the cloaked brown pegasus appraised him.

“Celestia said she’d be sending the best archaeologist she had, and that’s me,” she quipped.

Jeremy chuckled. “Guess so. You have any leads on this?” he asked hopefully, and A.K. Yearling shrugged.

“Not really. Pacem’s one of the oldest cultures in the world, and we only know bare hints about it. No recovered artifacts, no known locations… you’d think a culture that spanned the continent would have left something to show for it, but we’ve had no such luck so far.”

Jeremy grumbled in disappointment. “Well… maybe today will be different. You know where we’re headed?” he asked, and Yearling nodded.

“Your changelings call it ‘the Pool’. I’m assuming it’s sacred, judging from the reverence I hear whenever its name is spoken. Am I allowed to enter?” she shrewdly asked.

“Unfortunately, no. We’ll bring what samples we find out for you to examine,” Jeremy answered. “Alright, how long will it take us to get to the Pool from here?” he asked Chrysalis.

“It’s about ten hours’ flight for us, so converting that to chariot speed would be about two hours. Still, that’s quite a distance for us to travel, so I asked Celestia for tips to speed things up a bit,” Chrysalis revealed, lighting her horn. It buzzed and crackled with more energy than usual, and she shot forth a beam of emerald-green magic that hit the palace wall and expanded to create a portal, identical to one of Celestia’s save for the color. A forest clearing was visible beyond it, the wind gently blowing through the hole in space as birds chirped and hooted somewhere out of sight.

“Not bad,” A.K. Yearling appraised. She stepped through the portal without hesitation, and the rest of the changelings followed.

“Come on, guys, it’s safe,” Jeremy spoke up, noticing his fellow Elements’ reluctance, and hopped through himself to demonstrate, waving at them from the other end.

“Okay, okay, just… give us a sec,” Sam grumbled, carefully stepping through the portal as though it might close at any second. The others hastily followed, and the last to step through was Chrysalis, daintily closing the portal behind her with a flick of her horn.

“The Pool is about five minutes’ walk from here. I will lead my King and Thorax there, and we will return with what samples we find,” Chrysalis instructed A.K. Yearling, who nodded smartly.

“I’ll set up in the meantime,” she answered. “The rest of the humans and changelings can help me categorize the samples if we get too many.” That done, Chrysalis nodded to Jeremy and Thorax, who exchanged a nervous glance before following after her.

The forest beyond the clearing was dense with foliage, and Jeremy had to push more than a few branches out of his and Thorax’s way before they could proceed, carefully ensuring they wouldn’t spring back and hit the two of them in the back of the head.

“Nervous?” Jeremy asked, noticing Thorax twitching slightly.

“I’m going to be the first non-queen, non-nurse changeling to be allowed in here… ever,” Thorax reminded him. “Yeah, I’m a little nervous.”

Jeremy chuckled dryly. “I’m going to be the first non-changeling in there, so I’m a bit nervous too. Should be fine, though…” he trailed off.

They reached a large, grassy hill, where Chrysalis stopped. “Here we are. The entrance is concealed and warded so that only a Queen may authorize entrance, so I’ll just…” She lit her horn, and part of the grass in front of them melted away to reveal a perfectly Queen-sized passageway of carefully carved stone.

“After you,” she invited.

Jeremy stooped down to enter, blinking and adjusting his eyes to the sudden darkness as he slowly made his way into the most sacred place of his entire kingdom.

His first thought was that he couldn’t see anything. He brushed into a wall, stumbling backward, and was surprised when it lit up green. The green glow continued to spread along the wall, illuminating the entire cave, finally allowing him to see. The cave was remarkably smooth, almost perfectly so – if it weren’t for the rivulets of water running down the walls, and the glowing lichen over every surface, Jeremy would have suspected it of being carved rather than made naturally. He turned his gaze downward, and got his first glimpse of the Pool.

It was a bubbling, churning sea of viscous green liquid, a gentle froth simmering on the surface as it boiled like lava.

“Don’t let it get on you,” Chrysalis spoke up from behind him, and he jumped and whirled around, startled. “That’s supposedly the liquid that first created us changelings, mutating us from some distant ancestor of the mosquito and the corpse of a pony who’d fallen into the pool. What I know for sure is that it mutates anything it comes into contact with.”

Thorax, who had been examining the pool with reverence, hurriedly stepped back, just in time to avoid a small splatter of liquid from one of the bubbles bursting.

“Wow…” Jeremy murmured, staring at the glowing, broiling pond. It smelled slightly sweet, and Jeremy’s head swam as he fought the urge to take a deeper breath. “…Okay, let’s start looking around. Good thing we have plenty of light in here,” Jeremy decided after a moment, snapping out of his reverie.

“Is this the only cavern?” Thorax asked, looking around.

“As far as I know, yes,” Chrysalis answered. “Then again, I was taught not to look around too much – just to stay still and appreciate this place ceremonially.”

Jeremy hummed in thought, skirting around the edge of the glowing pool. “How deep is this?” he asked, gesturing to the liquid.

Chrysalis shrugged. “One of the nurses once tried poking in a stick to try and find out. It became some kind of… sentient, changeling-like... vine, and then it disappeared.”

Jeremy jerked his head up sharply. “This vine, was it black with blue spikes coming out?” he asked.

“Yes, it was. Why, have you seen them?” Chrysalis asked curiously.

“Discord took them. He was initially using them to attack the Tree of Harmony, which is why the pony Bearers had to return them and protect the Tree,” Jeremy explained.

“They’re currently suppressed by the Elements, somewhere in the Everfree Forest. I’m just surprised they came from here, is all.”

Chrysalis shrugged. “This pool will mutate anything it touches, regardless of whether it’s ‘alive’ or not. Anyway, point is, we never found the depth.”

Jeremy examined the edges of the pool, doing a rough calculation in his head. “Well, the slope at the banks would suggest something like ten feet, but that’s not accounting for pits, raised surfaces, or other imperfections,” he thought aloud.

“Why are you trying to figure out the depth?” Thorax asked curiously.

“I’m wondering how this pool was formed. If it’s deep, it’s probably springing up from a well somewhere below us. If it’s shallow, it might have collected from some other source or even have been deposited artificially by the historical changelings,” Jeremy explained.

They spent a while just looking around, examining the floor and walls to try and find any trace of writing or other such clues.

“Anything?” Jeremy called from across the pool.

“No… I’m beginning to think there’s nothing here,” Chrysalis answered, carefully poking at a rock.

“I might have found something!” Thorax called out, and they both turned. “No, wait, just another rock,” he corrected sheepishly after a moment.

“This location’s a waste of time,” Chrysalis decided, heading for the exit in exasperation. “Hespera probably didn’t even do much in here-“ But before she could finish, she bumped into a rock, only to shift it over a few inches despite its apparent weight.

“What the-“ Chrysalis began again, examining it closely. She lifted it up, and her eyes went wide. “Come over here,” she commanded.

Thorax and Jeremy immediately circled the pool to meet up with her, and looked at the underside of the rock. After centuries of pitting and erosion, it was barely visible… but it was clearly a map.

“A fake rock!” Jeremy laughed, inspecting it further. “Oh, that’s a classic.”

“Our first sample!” Thorax cheered, while Chrysalis grinned bashfully.

“Okay, I’ll take this back to Daring – I mean, A.K. Yearling. You two keep looking,” Jeremy instructed.

“Maybe there are more clues on the undersides of some of these other rocks?” Thorax wondered as Jeremy left the cave, blinking to adjust to the sunlight.

He found A.K. Yearling and the humans in the clearing without too much difficulty. The humans were busying themselves with various books and papers, and A.K. appeared to be reviewing some archaeological texts she had brought along with her. As he entered the clearing, all of them looked up hopefully.

“We’ve only found one sample so far,” he admitted, and there was a collective groan.

“Archaeology is boring!” Cory exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air.

Jeremy laughed. “So’s most kinds of field work. Anyway, this sample’s pretty interesting. We think it might be some kind of map,” he explained, handing the stone over to A.K. Yearling.

She scrutinized it closely, turning it over and muttering to herself. “Well, you’re right, it’s definitely a map. This appears to be Equestria, but half the coastline is dead wrong, and the other half is barely detailed enough to pass. Even for a map of Pacem, this isn’t terribly accurate,” Yearling revealed after a moment more of examination.

“Where’s it lead?” Jeremy asked curiously.

“Let’s see, this would be… roughly somewhere in the Eastern Crystal Mountain range. Maybe just northeast of Manehattan,” A.K. guessed.

“Well, at least we’ll have something to do there,” Cory grumbled.

The changelings who had accompanied them all crowded around to look at the fake stone curiously, and A.K. Yearling pushed them away in irritation. “Gimme a sec to make a cast, take some photos, and draw this thing. I don’t want anypony ruining the first Pacem artifact in recorded history.”

Jeremy nodded at the changelings, and they grumpily moved away from A.K. Yearling, allowing her to unpack a kit of plaster, a notebook and quill, and a small camera.

“What kind of camera is that?” Jeremy asked, glancing at it.

“Magnesium flash. Top of the line, apparently. Why?” Yearling replied.

“Anyone got a phone?” Jeremy called over to the humans, and Nick instantly raised his.

“We can take color pictures with our phones,” he explained to Yearling.

“You… take pictures… with your phones,” she deadpanned.

Jeremy snorted. “Among other things.”

A.K. Yearling rolled her eyes. “Aliens,” she muttered, but she was grinning.

A few minutes later, the rock had been removed from its plaster casting and passed around to the changelings while A.K. Yearling continued unpacking her sizable bag of equipment. “Last thing I’m gonna do is preserve it in a magical stasis field. I’ve heard about you humans and your ability to nullify magic, so don’t touch this crystal,” she warned as she pulled out a yellow, octahedral gem.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Jeremy promised.

The changelings obediently passed the rock back to her, and she touched the gem to it. The rock glowed yellow as the crystal’s color dulled to white, and Yearling put it in a burlap sack before placing it in her saddlebag.

“Okay, that settles that. Any more samples?” she asked.

“I’ll go check,” Jeremy answered, standing up and making to leave.

“Aren’t you telepathic?” Sam called over.

Jeremy stopped short at this, an embarrassed grimace appearing on his face. “Yes, Sam. Yes we are. Thank you for conveniently reminding me of that,” he complained as the changelings around him chuckled.

Any new finds? He queried mentally.

Nope, Thorax denied, and Jeremy was surprised to hear him speak telepathically for the first time.

Nothing. No other rocks in the cave had anything on them… Thorax, what are you doing? Chrysalis asked, projecting a feeling of confusion.

I just remembered, Spike taught me this during our Ogres and Oubliettes campaign! He said to always look for secret entrances and exits in important places, Thorax explained excitedly.

Thorax, there’s not going to be a- Chrysalis began in exasperation, but stopped short. He… he actually found one… She declared after a moment, and the assorted changelings gasped.

“What?” A.K. asked, having watched the silent conversation with some irritation.

“Thorax found a secret room,” Jeremy clarified. “And I want to go look at it. Be right back!” he called over his shoulder.

“Wait!” Nick called, before tossing Jeremy his phone. “It’s got the best camera on the market, and a decent flash,” he answered Jeremy’s unspoken question.

“Oh… thanks,” Jeremy answered, surprised.

“You better take good pictures, though. I have a reputation to uphold,” Nick proclaimed, to the others’ snickers.

To his surprise, Thorax was the one waiting in the cave. “Chrysalis is through here,” he answered Jeremy’s unspoken question, pushing aside a tangle of lichen that had been cleverly disguised to appear as though it covered a wall. “She’s um… yeah. See for yourself,” he added after a moment.

“O…kay…?” Jeremy replied, crouching down and crawling through.

He found Chrysalis in a much smaller room, horn lit green as she carefully studied the walls. Jeremy looked closer, only to find that the entire room was covered in miniscule, carefully-carved writing in a language he didn’t quite recognize.

“Can you read any of this?” he asked quietly.

“Just one word. ‘Hespera,’ right there. I think… I think this was her room. Where she woke up,” Chrysalis answered, voice barely above a whisper.

Jeremy swallowed nervously as he looked around – Pool aside, this was hallowed ground. “Can I… take pictures?” he timidly asked, looking at her.

“Pictures?” Chrysalis wondered, still apparently dazed.

“Of the writing. So A.K. Yearling can decipher it,” he explained.

“Oh… sure…” Chrysalis murmured, still staring at the walls.

A few carefully taken photos later, Jeremy pocketed Nick’s phone and returned his attention to Chrysalis, who was now looking at him.

“Can you hear her, like you hear the other queens?” he quietly wondered.

“Hespera doesn’t speak often… but yes, she was showing me a few things. Her memories here… they all came rushing back when she and I entered this place,” Chrysalis explained.

“You okay?” Jeremy asked worriedly.

“I’ll be fine,” Chrysalis answered, smiling at him after a moment.

The three of them returned to the clearing to find A.K. waiting impatiently. “What was in there?” she asked.

“Writing, tons of it. Neither of us recognized the language, though,” Jeremy explained, showing her the photos on Nick’s phone.

“This is tiny,” A.K. complained, peering at the miniscule script.

“You can zoom in,” Jeremy replied, demonstrating.

“Oh! That’s much better. I don’t recognize this either, though… no matter, we can figure it out. I’ve had to translate worse,” A.K. snorted confidently.

“Chrysalis recognized a single word, about… here. That’s ‘Hespera,’ apparently. The name of the first Queen we remember,” Jeremy added, showing her the zoomed-in word.

“Now that is helpful. That’ll give me at the very least a syllable or character match,” A.K. happily proclaimed, before pausing in thought. “Unless this is hieroglyphic, in which case… ah, well. Anyway, we’ve got our next lead!” she cheered, packing up her bags.

“Where are we going?” Chrysalis asked.

“The map on that rock led to somewhere in the Eastern Crystal Mountains, so we’re headed there,” Jeremy quickly summarized to her. I personally think it might be pretty close to Starlight’s cave outside of Our Town, he telepathically added.

That’s the Windigo’s section of the continent, right? Chrysalis clarified, and he nodded.

Should be close to the Windigo-changeling border, if Star Swirl’s notes are to be believed. Speaking of which, shouldn’t Diligita’s Hive be somewhere around there? Jeremy noted.

Yes, but ‘the eastern half of the continent’ is rather a tall order to pinpoint a location from, especially a Changeling Hive, Chrysalis mused, lighting her horn to cast another portal spell.

As the wormhole in space opened, a blisteringly cold wind swept around the clearing, carrying with it harsh, stinging flakes of snow that quickly melted in the afternoon sun.

“Looks like it’s a snowstorm over there. Did you open it in the mountains?” Sam asked Chrysalis, who nodded.

“Thought it’d be closer,” she grumbled before closing the portal.

“Maybe…. hmm. What if you opened one to Manehattan? We’d have a place to stay if this is going to be a multi-day adventure,” Jeremy noted.

“Celestia did give me a few vouchers for hotels across Equestria before we left, so that’s fine by me,” Yearling agreed.

“Ooh, can we see the sights while we’re there?” Cory asked excitedly.

Jeremy rolled his eyes. “Might as well,” he gave in, and the other humans cheered.

Chrysalis grinned, opening another emerald-green portal, and a busy Manehattan street was now visible through the other end, ponies close to the portal stopping and staring in openmouthed astonishment.

“What?” Jeremy asked them, stepping through. “You look like you’ve never seen aliens before.” Laughing, the other humans and changelings followed.

It didn’t take long to find one of the hotels A.K. Yearling had received a voucher for. The receptionist was none too happy to see that none of them would be paying, but brightened considerably when she received the voucher.

“Are they really that valuable?” Sam muttered, watching her.

“Reimbursed by the crown, if I had to guess,” Jeremy whispered back.

As it turned out, the rooms they were staying in were all part of a single suite, much like the Secret Hallway back in Canterlot but better lit and with different wall paneling and carpeting. Jeremy had actually gotten a double room with Thorax instead of Chrysalis, which he was a bit unhappy with but didn’t have the courage to speak up about. The other humans and changelings made for their respective beds, with Thorax in particular going face-first into the pillow.

“You okay?” Jeremy asked, sitting beside him as he followed the larger green changeling into their shared room.

“Oh, you know, just stressed… and tired… from all this excitement,” Thorax mumbled, his voice muffled by fluffy cotton.

“Heh… well, tomorrow’s going to be pretty exciting too, I bet. Make sure to get some rest,” Jeremy soothed, briefly rubbing Thorax’s head. He hummed contentedly, causing Jeremy to stop as he realized what he was doing. He pulled his hand away, embarrassed slightly.

“Why’d you stop?” Thorax complained.

“Sorry…” Jeremy apologized. “Uh… I’d better go check on Chrysalis,” he hurriedly explained, before getting up and leaving the room, embarrassed.

Chrysalis was busy staring out a window, looking at the ponies and carts go by in the street below.

“Busy place, huh?” Jeremy noted, following her gaze.

“Yeah…” Chrysalis trailed off. She crossed to the bed, throwing herself onto it in an eerily similar manner to Thorax.

“What does Hespera sound like?” Jeremy wondered, laying down next to her. “Like… well, like me, but much older. She sounds kind of… wispy. Frail. Like she’s just barely still there,” Chrysalis answered. Before Jeremy could worry, Chrysalis smiled. “Of course, that’s not true. She’s very much alive, we all know that. Maybe her ‘voice’ sounds like that because she speaks so rarely?” she wondered.

Jeremy shrugged. “Could be,” he mumbled.

“She wanted to know more about… Thorax, and his kind, so I told her about them,” Chrysalis spoke up, yawning.

“You think she remembers any changelings like that?” Jeremy wondered. Chrysalis grunted in disagreement.

“No… all the ones she remembers are the ‘regular’ kind. Her children.”

Jeremy hummed in thought. “Also… where are Sombra and Nightmare Moon?” he asked. “I haven’t seen them all day.”

Chrysalis giggled quietly. “I asked Nightmare Moon to take care of the rest of the Hive while we were away. She agreed, but only in exchange for extra cuddles.” Jeremy chuckled with her.

“And Sombra?” he repeated.

“He’s still writing music, actually. Says he wants to compose a few more songs, now that he’s famous.”

Jeremy winced. “I’d better tell him about the pitfalls of that, then. Sequels are hard.”

Chrysalis snorted. “I think he knows, he was talking to me about that too. Something about… how high the expectations are.” Jeremy nodded, reluctantly pushing himself back into a sitting position. He slipped into his pajamas and brushed his teeth before cuddling into Chrysalis, relaxing at the familiar sensation of her forelegs wrapping around him.

“Is it weird… that I’m scared to find out the truth?” Chrysalis quietly wondered, as the sun fell and the moon rose to take its place.

“No… that’s normal. I’m a little scared too,” Jeremy revealed.

He awoke in the Flower World to find that he was still in the place with the other flowers, the black-and-green ones that were oddly separate from the bigger one he’d spent most of his time here with. He reached out to touch the one he’d poked last time, brushing a petal. Nothing happened. He tried a different flower. Still nothing. No images flashed in his head, and the flowers made no response to his touch. He felt… worried. Was he no longer welcome here? He stood up, looking around and wondering where to go. Ahead, a single flower shifted slightly. Hopeful, he walked over to it, flowers springing away from his path like usual as he examined this one.

It was a rose, inky black like the rest but with a full and beautiful set of petals. The thorns that normally occupied the stem of the plant were absent, but he still felt… uneasy around this flower. Cautiously, he reached out a finger to touch it. “Hello?” he whispered, wondering who this was.

As soon as his finger landed on a petal, a torrent of memories and emotions assaulted him, sending him reeling backward. First was a single, still image, looking down on a tiny changeling with a confrontational stance, angrily yelling something as tears spilled from her eyes. She had hair, colored a much darker, forest green than Chrysalis’ teal locks. A feeling of deep regret flashed through his mind at this, before it abruptly switched. Next was a view of three beings – a changeling, a Windigo, and an umbrum – a tres pacificae. The changeling and umbrum were screaming at eachother, while the windigo… was crying, attempting with all its might to break them up. A hard pit of anger boiled in his stomach at this image. The final image was that of the earlier tiny changeling, looking at him in horror through some kind of portal as a beam of blue magic connected him and her horn. Behind the portal, something had exploded outward in a million points of light. The image was blurry, and it took Jeremy a moment to realize that the person whose eyes he was seeing from was crying. But the emotion accompanying this image was not sadness, or anger – it was resignation. The feeling that the person had done everything they could, and it was still not enough.

Jeremy awoke with a gasp, to find Chrysalis staring at him. “Are you okay?” she whispered. “You were having some kind of nightmare…”

He took a few deep breaths, wiping his forehead to find it clammy and freezing. “Yeah… you could say that,” he muttered.

“I think… I think I had some of that nightmare too,” Chrysalis revealed. “I don’t remember anything, but… I felt something.”

Jeremy remembered that she shared his emotions, and suddenly another piece clicked into place. “Um… yeah. Don’t worry… it was just a nightmare. I’m okay,” he consoled, sliding an arm around her again.

Chrysalis hummed discontentedly, but eventually gave in and closed her eyes again. Jeremy, meanwhile, stared up at the ceiling, wondering about what he had just seen.

He slept fitfully, tossing and turning as he dreamed of that burst of white light again, and again. Why did it look so… familiar? Like he’d seen it before, in a different place.

In a different time.

Chapter 17

Someone shook his shoulder gently, and he felt a vague glimmer of concern emanating from them.

“M’up…” he muttered, blinking and turning away from the lamp. Sitting up, he discerned that Chrysalis had been the one shaking him, a worried look on her face.

“You were having that nightmare again,” she fretted.

Jeremy sighed. “Beginning to think they’re a little more than nightmares. I think… I think I saw things from Diligita’s eyes. Seconds before everything blew up.” He paused for a moment. “Did Hespera have darker hair than you?” he added curiously.

Chrysalis cocked her ear for a moment, as if listening. “Dark green. Like the leaves. She liked the forest, it made her feel at home.”

Jeremy nodded. “I got a glimpse of her, right before the explosion.”

Chrysalis apparently didn’t know what to say to that, as she remained silent. “…Do you wanna go get some pancakes?” she quietly asked after a moment more of silence.

Jeremy smiled faintly. “Yeah…” he agreed, getting up and stretching, and Chrysalis looked immensely relieved as she accompanied him out of their hotel room.

“Dude. You look like… You look awful,” Sam noted as soon as Jeremy walked into the room, Chrysalis trotting off to grab the pair of them some food.

“I feel awful. Prophetic dreams are… not fun,” Jeremy grumbled, putting his head down on the table.

“Prophetic dreams? What about?” Avery asked, interested.

“Basically… I saw things from the perspective of Queen Diligita. Right before everything exploded, she pushed her daughter through a portal to safety. It was… really sad,” Jeremy sighed.

“So… hive mind?” Avery posited.

Jeremy shrugged. “It didn’t feel like the normal hive mind communications. It was just… weird. Can we… not talk about this, actually?” he asked. Avery nodded immediately, backing off, and Chrysalis set down a steaming plate of pancakes in front of Jeremy’s head.

“Up and at’ em, apey, you need your strength if we’re going to poke around in caves,” Chrysalis gently encouraged.

“Apey?” Jeremy complained, to the others’ stifled laughter.

“It’s a nickname I thought of!” Chrysalis brightly announced. “…You don’t like it,” she shrewdly observed a moment later.

“Keep trying… Buggy,” Jeremy shot back, smiling despite himself as he took a fork and began cutting his pancakes.

A while later, they were standing outside the hotel entrance. “So, you lot want to go out and see the sights, then?” Jeremy was saying.

“Yeah… honestly, we just want to explore Manehattan,” Sam agreed, grinning sheepishly.

Jeremy shrugged. “Suit yourself. Let me know if you find any cool robotics… or… um… magical constructs? Dunno what the equivalent is here.”

Sam laughed. “I’ll let you know if I find anything. Have fun looking at old rocks!” he teased before heading off, the other humans in tow.

Jeremy looked back to find A.K. Yearling and the rest of his changelings waiting, uncertain looks on the changelings’ faces.
“What’s with the look?” Jeremy asked, raising an eyebrow at them.

“…Sam was lying to you somehow,” one spoke up.

Jeremy looked at him incredulously. “Sam? Nah. He’s probably just got some surprise for me later, or something,” he dismissed airily, turning around. “C’mon, let’s go!”

As they took off, ponies looked nervously at the small group of changelings flying in formation. Jeremy was on Chrysalis’ back, wondering why he hadn’t brought the armor Chrysalis had helped make for him. Probably because he still didn’t know how to fly with it. Thorax flew next to Chrysalis, sometimes overtaking her but uncertainly falling behind again. Jeremy, watching him, wanted to say something, but was just as unsure where exactly Thorax should fly. Next to Chrysalis? In front of her? Behind her? There wasn’t exactly a precedent for this. A. K. Yearling, meanwhile, was flying at the very back of the small formation, looking lost in thought.

We’re looking for a set of caves somewhere in these mountains, Jeremy reminded the rest of the group.

What’s inside? a changeling near the back wondered.

Might be nothing. Might be some Windigo artifacts. If we’re really lucky, there might even be some changeling artifacts, Jeremy answered.

It’s so weird to think that we once worked together with windigos and umbra… I feel like if Windigos were still alive today, they’d hate us, another changeling noted. Jeremy shrugged.

A while later, they’d circled around most of the mountain range, landing in a valley between two peaks. A small lake had formed here, birds chirping and the sun shining as a gentle wind blew through the grass.

“Nice place,” Jeremy commented, looking around.

“I wonder if anyone lives here?” Thorax agreed, dipping a hoof into the water.

“Just one,” a voice greeted behind them. Jeremy, Chrysalis and Thorax whirled around to find a pony trotting up.

Both his mane and coat were snow-white, giving him an oddly gleaming look in the bright sunlight as he gazed at them with icy blue eyes. His Cutie Mark was three hexagonal snowflakes, water-blue in coloration.

Double Diamond. A former member of Starlight’s village cult, generally friendly, Jeremy relayed to the other changelings. “Hey. We’re here on a historical expedition. My name’s Jeremy, this is Chrysalis, and this is Thorax, and some of our helpers,” Jeremy explained, pointing at each of them in turn.

“Name’s Double Diamond. Here, exactly? Not much in the valley to look at,” Double Diamond confirmed.

“Not here. We’re looking for some caves in these mountains… not sure of any more details than that,” Jeremy admitted.

Double Diamond grimaced. “The only caves I know of around these parts are… well, we don’t go near them. We’ve heard rumors that those who enter are never heard from again.”

A. K. Yearling scoffed. “As if I haven’t heard that one before,” she muttered under her breath. She then stiffened and looked around, before relaxing as she realized nobody seemed to have noticed.

“Well, I think we’ll be alright,” Jeremy dismissed. “Can you show us there?”

Double Diamond tugged at his blue scarf uncomfortably. “Well… okay. But only as far as the entrance,” he allowed.

“Thanks!” Jeremy agreed, and they set off.

A few hours of walking later, Jeremy and Double Diamond were chatting. Double Diamond had just finished explaining the events of his town’s recent history, which Jeremy already knew but politely nodded along to anyway.

“So what were you doing in the valley, anyway?” Jeremy asked after a pause.

Diamond snorted. “I used to live there, a long while back. Good mountains for skiing, a beautiful view of the lake at night… nothing but me and the countryside. ‘Course, all that changed when I decided to go exploring in just the wrong place.”

Jeremy grimaced. “The town?” he guessed, and Double Diamond nodded.

“Let’s just say Starlight was very… persuasive about getting me to stay there,” he grumbled, but shook it off a moment later. “But… it’s okay. She’s good now, she’s learned what she did wrong, and that’s about as much as I can ask of her.”

Chrysalis gazed at him sadly. “You should talk to her sometime. I can tell you still have much to say,” she quietly urged him. Double Diamond glanced at her in surprise.

“…Changelings, right? Starlight said something about you guys once. Said you were ‘empaths,’ and that you… ate emotions?”

Chrysalis smiled. “We only eat one emotion, and that’s love. Still, we can sense the others.”

Double Diamond stared at her awkwardly. “Right. That’s… weird,” he mumbled under his breath.

“You get used to it,” Jeremy remarked with a lopsided grin.

Double Diamond rolled his eyes. “I sure hope not. Anyway, the caves are just up ahead. I’m gonna head back now… I’d rather not get any closer.” With that, he did an immaculate half-turn and trotted away, his step a little quicker than it had been approaching.

“What’s in these caves, that has him so spooked?” Jeremy wondered.

“A giant monster, maybe?” Thorax answered.

“Not everything is like an Ogres and Oubliettes campaign, Thorax,” Chrysalis spat. Seeing Thorax wince, she gave him an apologetic glance. “I mean… we’ll probably be fine.” There was a moment of awkward silence, before she silently headed towards the cave, head slightly drooped.

She’s acting a little strange today, Jeremy mentally observed, concerned.

I would be too, all things considered. We’re going to have to rewrite a lot of history after this… Thorax replied, following after her.

The cave mouth was just as Jeremy remembered it from the show – a simple hole in the side of the mountain, surrounded by drifts of snow upon a bare purple-gray rock landscape. “Why is it every time I go in a cave, I feel like I’m about to fight something?” Jeremy grumbled as he carefully stepped inside.

The inside of the cave was… unassuming. It was warmer than the cold outside, as was to be expected, and the snow had melted into small puddles of grimy cave water that Jeremy carefully hopped around. Thorax and the other changelings merely stepped through them, looking oddly at Jeremy’s carefully planned jumps.

“Are you… afraid of water?” one questioned, staring at him.

Jeremy snorted in amusement. “No… but clothes are hard to dry. Also, pneumonia isn’t a fun illness to get.” The changeling looked at Thorax, who simply shrugged and continued to follow after Jeremy.

They found Chrysalis waiting for them at the end of the cave, an apparent dead end with nothing more than a few stalactites framing the back wall.

“Looks like we’ll have to find another cave,” A. K. Yearling noted, sighing with frustration.

“…No, this is the one,” Chrysalis responded, still uneasily staring at the wall of the cave.

“How do you know?” A. K. Yearling asked, raising an eyebrow.

Chrysalis reached out a hoof, and everyone gasped as it went through the rock wall at the back of the cave. The same trick our hive uses, Jeremy realized.

A. K. Yearling fell silent, inspecting the wall with a critical eye. “An illusion spell. Guessing you lot recognize it, which means that it’s probably changeling magic. Seems we’re right on target, then,” she decided. With that, she slipped her rucksack off, rummaging through it before pulling out a journal. Grabbing a pencil with her mouth, Yearling began to write something on it.

“What are you writing?” Jeremy asked, looking over.

“Ob’er’ations,” A. K. Yearling grunted through the pencil in her teeth. Jeremy grunted in vague interest, and returned to Chrysalis’ side.

I… I can’t do this, Chrysalis admitted as soon as he took his place next to her.

Scared? Jeremy asked sympathetically.

Terrified. I… what if we find a bunch of Windigo corpses? Or Diligita’s top-secret plans to kill off the other two races? What if we find out that we were always meant to be monsters? Chrysalis worried, beginning to hyperventilate.

Jeremy got down on one knee, leaning over to kiss Chrysalis on the lips. She shivered slightly, whether from the cold or from surprise he couldn’t tell. We won’t ever know unless we venture onward. And if we don’t… I can tell it’ll haunt you. Don’t worry, honey. I will be with you all the way, he answered, wrapping her in a tight hug.

Chrysalis looked away. …Carry me? she asked quietly.

Smiling, Jeremy picked her up, cradling her like a newborn. ”Are we ready to go through?” he asked the other changelings. He raised an eyebrow, noting the blush on their faces and A. K. Yearling’s facehoof.

“Sadly, this isn’t the first time I’ve had to deal with lovey-dovey assistants. Save it for the honeymoon, you two,” she snarked, her rucksack once again securely attached to her side as she sauntered past them.

“We’re not even married yet,” Jeremy muttered back, snorting with amusement as he followed her.

They entered a vast atrium cavern, rather like the one underneath Canterlot but distinctly colder. Fires could be seen dotting the ledges of the cave, looking pitiful and small compared to the freezing rock and ice everywhere else. And attending those fires… Jeremy stared.

So that was what a Windigo looked like.

Their coats were a beautiful snow white, and they each stood nearly as tall as Thorax, with even brawnier torsos that almost made them look like proper horses from back on Earth. Their noses were long and slender, and their eyes glowed an icy blue. Finally, their pale gray manes glittered behind them like a thousand miniature diamonds every time they moved, and Jeremy suspected that tiny crystals of ice in their hair were responsible for this. They were beautiful, in a strange, alien way.

That was, until one of them noticed the pack of changelings and promptly screamed.

“THEY’VE FOUND US!” she yelled, nearly tripping over herself in her panic. “THE WAR’S RESTARTED! RUN!” With that, she galloped away, heading for a nearby side cave that she practically threw herself into. The others quickly made for cover, diving into nearby caves themselves.

“Wait! We’re not-“ Jeremy attempted, but she had already disappeared.

He shared a glance with Thorax, who huffed a tired sigh. “Don’t worry, they’ll figure it out after the third or fourth time… hopefully,” the larger changeling muttered, sounding all too familiar with this occurrence.

“…Well, I suppose we’d better go find her,” Jeremy replied, beginning the long walk to the other side of the cavern.

They found the Windigo that had screamed earlier curled up in her cave, shivering and sobbing even though a fire was right next to her. “Please don’t kill us,” she whispered over and over, scrunching up her eyes as they got close.

Jeremy gently put Chrysalis down, but before he could reach out to hug the Windigo female, Chrysalis had beaten him to it. The Windigo yelped in surprise, opening her neon blue eyes to stare at Chrysalis in open amazement. “I’m sorry,” Chrysalis murmured to her, rubbing a hoof along her back as tears streamed down the changeling queen’s face. “I’m so sorry. It won’t happen again, I promise. We’ll be better this time…”

Jeremy, Thorax, A. K. Yearling, and the others watched awkwardly as the two of them continued to cry and hold each other, and he felt a mix of fear, guilt, shame, and sorrow wash over him from Chrysalis’ mental link.

A while later, the Windigo broke away from Chrysalis, staring at her with a mix of suspicion, fear, hope, and guilt. “You’re… not here to wipe us out?” she asked timidly.

Chrysalis vigorously shook her head. “We, um… we didn’t think there were any of you left. N-not that we wanted that!” she hurriedly backtracked.

“We’re actually here to find out what happened during the war. All we collectively remember is one of our queens waking up in a… in a cave, somewhere. Nothing before that,” Jeremy added, offering a hand in greeting.

“I’m… Gwyneira. Who are you? You’re not a changeling,” Gwyneira pointed out suspiciously.

“I’m a human! My name is Jeremy, and I’m Queen Chrysalis’ significant other,” Jeremy introduced.

“You’re also the human embodiment of the Element of Love, honey, don’t forget that one,” Chrysalis added from off to the side, and Jeremy grinned indulgently.

“That too. So… what do you lot remember about the war?” he asked.

Gwyneira looked away. “Um… maybe I’m not the best one to tell you about it. I’ll show you to the Elder… the Elder can explain more than I can.” They slowly made their way out of the tunnel and back into the atrium cave, Jeremy briefly shivering from the chill as a droplet of icy water landed on his nose.

The Elder, as it turned out, lived on the highest ledge in the cave. Jeremy took one look at the arduous trek up there, and glanced helplessly at Chrysalis. She rolled her eyes, and crouched low as he gratefully hopped on her back.

The things I do for love, she pretended to whine, and Jeremy chuckled.

As they flew up, the chill of the wind seemed to freeze the hairs on his arms, and even Chrysalis twitched slightly. It’s… unnaturally cold in here. I think the Windigo are amplifying it somehow, Jeremy noted.

They landed on the ledge to find yet another fire being stoked by a Windigo, older than the others. She sighed as she raked at the burning embers of the twigs and sticks she was using.

“Duchess Eira,” Gwyneira greeted, bowing low.

“How many times do I need to tell you, girl?! Our titles are meaningless, and we will die clutching the rags of our once great-“ she paused, looking up and seeing the group for the first time. “Oh. Changelings,” she noticed.

“We’re not here to hurt you!” Chrysalis quickly interjected.

“I know that, child. You’re not even wearing the royal armor, much less carrying any weaponry,” Duchess Eira scoffed.

Royal armor? Jeremy asked Chrysalis.

Hespera used to have a set of armor she sometimes wore when rescuing discovered changelings… maybe that has more significance than we realized? Or maybe it’s something else entirely, Chrysalis responded. “So… are you the Elder?” she asked curiously, and Gwyneira facehoofed off to the side.

Eira, however, merely laughed. “I might be. What’s it to you?” she challenged.

Chrysalis and Jeremy looked at each other. “…Gwyneira told us you could explain more about the ancient war between our peoples. Because, uh… we don’t remember any of it. Our first queen that we remember was Hespera, and she woke up in a cave somewhere with no memory of her previous life.”

Eira raised an eyebrow at that, seemingly intrigued. “So Diligita’s little gambit paid off. Clever… dangerous, but clever. She never was one for playing a subtle game.”

Jeremy leaned forward, his interest clearly roused. “Gambit?” he asked.

Eira laughed, a cold, chilling sound. “Colt, you have no idea who she was, do you?” she taunted.

“…No,” Jeremy admitted. “What’d she do?”

He appeared to be causing Eira no end of amusement, as she shook and snorted with more laughter. “Oh, this is perfect! She devised such a perfect trap, even eleven hundred years later her descendants haven’t broken free!” Eira cackled gleefully, not even bothering to stoke the fire in front of her anymore.

“…And are you going to tell us?” Jeremy prompted after a moment, feeling slightly irritated.

Eira slowly calmed down, wiping a tear away from her face. “Oh, come now. Let an old mare have the last laugh, will you?” she chided, still grinning. The stony expressions of the changelings around her didn’t falter, and finally she sighed. “I was a very young Windigo when all this happened. Around your age, in fact!” she remarked, pointing at Chrysalis. “It all started, way back when…”

“I first saw Diligita at the annual Tres Pacificae Locus, the time of year when every tres pacificae in the nation would gather to discuss what they had learned. Ponies were welcomed too, but it was mainly an event for reflection and planning, a once-a-year chance to look back and figure out what went wrong and what went right. Grievances between the three Elemental Tribes were aired too, mainly to prevent… well, I suppose you’ve seen what they were meant to avoid. I was a young member of the Spirit Guard, and I was escorting our Lady Neva to the opening ceremonies. Chief Tenebris was there too, a young upstart who’d just taken over his late father’s position. He was escorted by a few umbra – strapping ones they were, too. I asked one of them out, but he said he was busy,” Eira reminisced, a wistful expression in her eyes. “But then Diligita arrived, stepping out of her cocooned chariot.”

“To say she was beautiful would be the understatement of the millennium. She was a Storm among changelings, a wild, passionate thing who kept an iron mask of calm over a roiling torrent of emotions. Fierce, untamed, with a grace that was as awe-inspiring to watch as it was deadly to be in the way of, no stallion or mare could lay claim to her… until that day,” Eira sighed.

Jeremy raised an eyebrow. “It was you, wasn’t it? You somehow claimed her,” he realized.

Eira cackled again. “Observant little child, aren’t you? I suppose you’d relate. It wasn’t so much that I claimed her as the other way around. What Diligita wanted, she got, and the moment we laid eyes on each other, she wanted nothing but me,” Eira corrected, blushing slightly.

“Did you… rule as Queen alongside her?” Chrysalis asked.

Eira looked at her incredulously. “Me? Equal to her? Hah! As if, youngling. She made sure I knew exactly where my place was.”

“Anyway, that day, she had business to attend to, and by Harmony did she attend to it. While Tenebris and Neva spent the morning arguing over petty things like land and populations, she had already plowed through half the grievances of her queendom with an intensity and speed none could hope to match. Her every judgment was final, her every word passed down with such iron-laden decree that any who objected even slightly found themselves cut to pieces by her wit. Some said she didn’t suffer fools gladly. I say they were fools themselves, because Diligita suffered no fools at all,” Eira proudly declared.

She’s hopelessly smitten, Jeremy observed.

“I am not!” Eira snapped, shocking them all. She paused a moment, thinking. “Alright, maybe a little. She was my first and best lover, after all, and she just had that special something that I’ve never seen anypony else come close to. But that’s no excuse to guttersnipe, you little urchin!” she castigated.

Jeremy flinched back. “You can… hear us?” he wondered.

Eira raised her eyebrow coldly. “And where do you think the tradition of letting a queen’s lover into the hivemind began? Certainly not with one of your intellect.”

Absolutely destroyed, Pharynx jeered from off to his left, and Jeremy smirked.

To be fair, I deserved that one, he replied.

Well, at the very least you’re self-aware, Eira grumbled. Her mental ‘voice’ was strange – where a changeling sounded like they were right in between one’s ears, she sounded more tinny, and hollow – as though speaking through an old phone.

That’s what you sound like, Chrysalis informed him, and Jeremy digested this information with surprise.

“So… what? Did she decide one day she didn’t like the other tribes?” he asked, raising an eyebrow skeptically.

“Oh, heavens no. If she did, there wouldn’t be anything left. No, Diligita concocted an elaborate plan to save them,” Eira revealed. She poked a log idly, apparently figuring out what to say next. “I was one of the few who were told the plan, and even then, even though I was her closest confidante, Diligita swore undying vengeance should I reveal it to anyone before she could enact it. Suffice it to say that she brought about the end of our civilization to more or less avoid the end of our world.”

Jeremy gazed at her, utterly perplexed, and Eira sighed. “She never told me what was so dangerous, only that it wouldn’t cease until it had ended every life on the planet. She did tell me that whatever it was, this monster fed on love, just like her. But where feeding on love was simply nourishment to a changeling, this thing grew stronger every time it fed. And again unlike a changeling, it didn’t leave the food source alive after it finished. Her words, not mine,” Eira remembered.

“…So, to prevent a chain reaction of it feeding, getting stronger and killing, she got rid of all the love on the continent by starting a massive civil war,” Jeremy guessed. The changelings around him murmured, shocked, and even Gwyneira was staring at her elder with her jaw dropped and an angry expression.

“You never told me any of this!” she accused, pointing a hoof at Eira.

The elder Windigo simply raised an eyebrow at her. “And miss that delightful paranoia of yours? Perish the thought, child. You’re the only entertainment in this blasted cave. That, and trying to figure out this ‘Friendship Fire’ the Elder keeps going on about.” When Chrysalis and Jeremy looked at her in surprise, she snorted. “Your pegasus friend over there figured it out ages ago. I’m not the Elder, I just said that to figure out if you wanted to hurt him. Pony or not, he’s one of the few creatures I find interesting to talk to.”

Jeremy looked back at A.K. Yearling suspiciously, and she coughed guiltily. “I was going to say something! Eventually…” the archaeologist trailed off.

“Okay… so who is the Elder?” Jeremy asked.

“Aye, that’d be me,” a voice introduced from behind them.

Jeremy and Chrysalis whirled around to get their first glance at the Elder of the Windigo. His snow-white beard was trimmed impeccably, and his dusty gray, wrinkled coat spoke of both seniority and a well-traveled life. His hat was familiar, impossibly so…

“Star Swirl the Bearded?” Jeremy asked incredulously.

Star Swirl sighed. “Four hundred and two,” he muttered to himself.

“How are you alive?” Jeremy continued.

Star Swirl chuckled. “Six hundred and eleven,” he snorted.

“Why are you counting?” Chrysalis asked curiously.

“One thousand, two hundred and forty-two. I’m sorry, child, but I’ve already heard these statements many times. Call it a hobby if you will, but I’ve resorted to counting them to pass the days,” Star Swirl chuckled. “To answer your question, I was recently freed from a thousand years’ imprisonment by an intrepid young mare and her friends, and I’ve apparently resumed aging from that moment onward. I’m mortal, yes, but I’ve a few decades to go before I’m ready to kick the bucket,” he explained.

“So… you decided to become the Elder of this WIndigo colony?” Jeremy asked, still confused.

Star Swirl shrugged. “Honestly, I only did it because it allowed me more authority to perform my studies. The mystery of Pacem was one of my favorite research topics, slim pickings though it was back then. Nowadays, however…” he surveyed the changelings around him, particularly paying attention to those who had not transformed into their more colorful forms. “Such an interesting condition. The darkness of color and holes in the legs and wings suggest a form of rot, or decay, but otherwise you seem mostly unchanged,” he noted, peering intently at a very uncomfortable drone.

“But I was born like this!” the drone protested.

Star Swirl rolled his eyes. “Mutations always are,” he remarked. “It’s no fault of yours, child, but something has happened to your race. I thank you for getting Eira to talk, by the way,” he added, glancing at Jeremy. “She loves to keep secrets.”

Eira laughed, still stoking the fire. “From impudent younglings who poke around in business that isn’t theirs? Sure. This is a matter between changelings, umbra and windigos, Star Swirl. Your ‘research’ consisted of little more than nosiness.”

Star Swirl turned his nose up haughtily. “The pursuit of truth is not nosiness!” he denied.

“Hey, I don’t mean to interrupt your banter here, but didn’t you write a journal hinting that the Windigo started this whole thing off?” A. K. Yearling pointed out, pulling out a copy of On the Origines of Ponie-Like Species.

Star Swirl rubbed a hoof to the back of his neck, embarrassed. “Yes… well… I’m ashamed to admit that I may have jumped to conclusions there. We had so little evidence to work with back then that it was the most reasonable thing I could come up with at the time!” he defended, looking away heatedly.

Ah, the ancient scientists. More storywriters than proper researchers, Jeremy quipped in his head. Eira burst out laughing, and Star Swirl glanced at her in surprise.

“What? What did they just say?” he demanded.

“Oh, I’ll never tell… but I will save that one for later,” Eira remarked deviously.

Star Swirl glared at her. “…Anyway, I believe I can piece together the story from here, unless somepony would like to jump in again,” he added with a glare at Eira, who gazed impudently back, flicking an ember of the fire at him.

“I belive that Diligita, upon learning of the danger, sought to eliminate all love in the continent. Her plan was twofold: First, the civil war between umbra, changelings and windigos, to break the many years of peace Pacem had enjoyed. Second, she cast some kind of spell that mutated her own changelings into the form we see today, ridding them of their natural ability to feed off of each other’s love and affection to ensure that nopony would ever feel love again. As Eira claimed earlier… Dangerous, but clever.”

Chrysalis sat down on the floor with a thump, not even minding the frigid stone below her as she processed this. “But… then… what are we? Monsters or saviors?” she asked timidly.

Star Swirl raised an eyebrow at her. “Why not both?” he countered. “History is rarely so straightforward as it is written to be. I should know, I wrote a great deal of it.”

Eira snorted. “You made up a great deal of it,” she corrected.

“Write a better account, then,” Star Swirl retorted.

“Okay, so Diligita avoided catastrophe by ruining everything in a temporary manner… I guess that’s it. That’s our answer,” Jeremy murmured, ignoring the bickering and looking away.

“...The truth is rarely what you hope for,” Star Swirl replied gently, and even Eira gazed sadly at him.

“Hold it, we are not done here,” A. K. Yearling snapped, pulling out sheafs of parchment. “Hespera woke up in a cave with these hieroglyphs covering every wall. I want to know what they say.”

Star Swirl took one look at the pictures and shrugged, levitating them carefully around the fire to Eira.

She gazed at the script almost hungrily. “This is Diligita’s writing, all right. And… my, my. How sad,” Eira muttered, eyes skimming through the language with an air of deep familiarity.

“What?” A. K. demanded.

Eira sighed, and began to read aloud.

“To my dearest daughter, Hespera of the Tribe of Fire.

If you can still read this, that means I have failed and our world is doomed. There is an ancient portal far to the north that you may yet use to escape this planet’s fate. Please know that what I did, I did out of love, and that is why I had to destroy everything we held dear.

Please forget about me, and focus on fleeing. There is nothing left for you here – the hive is dead. I, too, will be dead by the time you read this.

Love, your mother,

Ex-Queen Diligita.”

Chrysalis sniffled, and Jeremy could swear her hair was a darker green than it was a few moments ago. “B-but… I couldn’t read it. I couldn’t read it at all… is the world saved, then? Did Mother defeat the beast?” she asked, in a completely different voice. Raspy but caring, the voice of someone who had suffered a thousand injuries rather than let their own suffer a single one.

“…Hard to say,” Star Swirl answered after a moment, evidently caught off-guard. “Our world is not destroyed, and Equestria has enjoyed a stretch of peace and love comparable to Pacem’s own. I think… I believe the monster has left. Either it is long-dead, or it moved on in search of more prosperous worlds to devour.”

Chrysalis stared at him for a moment, eyes flickering and pulsing as her double iris swirled chaotically. Then, she collapsed on the floor, out cold.

Chapter 18

Almost reflexively, Jeremy picked Chrysalis up off the cold stone, and she moaned slightly as Jeremy sat down and laid her across his lap.

“Someone get her some water in case she wakes up,” he ordered, and a few changelings scampered off.

“Is she gonna be okay?” Thorax asked, leaning down to examine her worriedly.

“Stress probably got to her. She’s not hurt, but she could definitely use some rest and relaxation after this,” Jeremy mused.

“Never thought I’d see the day when a changeling queen needed to be taken care of like some infant child,” Eira quipped.

“Not now, Eira,” Jeremy retorted stonily.

Surprised, Eira fell silent, and Jeremy scooted closer to the fire, trying to warm Chrysalis by its heat. “…Forgive me, child. Diligita once told me that changeling queens’ personalities were influenced by those queens that came before them. It is… strange, to me, to see a Queen so… tame. In my days, if a Queen graced you with her presence, let alone her favor, that was a thing to tell only in legends and fables.”

Jeremy sighed, adjusting Chrysalis’ head as she murmured. “She was like that, once. She took it too far.”

Eira shifted uncomfortably. “So I’ve heard…” she muttered.

The two changelings that had left earlier returned with hooves full of freshly melted water, which they tipped into Chrysalis’ mouth as carefully as they dared. She drank deeply, tongue snaking out to scoop up more of the frigid liquor, and her eyes flickered open.

“Wh… what happened?” Chrysalis drowsily murmured, her voice sounding relatively normal.

“Hespera fainted… and took you along with her,” Jeremy explained.

“…Oh,” Chrysalis answered after a moment. She looked up at Eira. “So… would you like to leave this cave? Start over?” she offered.

Eira grinned. “Child,” she laughed, standing up. “I thought you’d never ask.”

In the end, the Windigos didn’t have much to pack up. A few ice sculptures were all they took with them, and Eira viewed these with disgust. “The last of our once great civilization,” she sighed. “Still, if a complete restart is necessary…”

Jeremy raised an eyebrow. “Speaking of which. The North is still frozen. You think there’s a second Windigo colony out there?” he asked.

Eira shrugged. “Without a ‘Windigo hivemind,’ it’s just about impossible to say. It’d be optimistic to think our brethren survived all these years, but… then again, we did.” She paused a moment, thinking. “Speaking of which, you should head back there and free the Tribe of Water – the ‘umbra’.”

Jeremy grinned. “Already done. I invited them to my planet, to gorge on the world’s hatred.”

Eira looked at him in surprise. “And they didn’t try to fight you?” she questioned disbelievingly.

“Oh, they did,” Jeremy dismissed. “But I already had an umbrum as my friend, and he was able to convince the rest.”

Eira whinnied in amusement, the sound more akin to a high-speed wind blowing than a horse’s noise. “Maybe you are worthy to call yourself King. Not by any of the usual methods, mind you…”

Chrysalis chuckled darkly. “He beat me in single combat,” she revealed, and Eira’s jaw dropped.

“Oh, come on! You were starving and half out of your mind. You’d have wiped the floor with me if you had the power you do now,” Jeremy shot back as they headed back down to the ground floor of the icy caverns.

“Like that would even slow you down?” Chrysalis retorted, grinning deviously at him.

Jeremy laughed, but his laughter quickly died down as he caught sight of what was happening at the entrance.

Pharynx and a Windigo were fighting, tussling and rolling around so harshly that the cavern reverberated every time they hit a wall. Pharynx was shapeshifting at such frequency that he looked less like a changeling and more like an olive-green blur of fire and fury, and the Windigo was swirling around this form, darting in at some points and escaping out of others, too quickly to be caught but just slow enough to be seen.

He felt my honor was insulted, Thorax sighed as he stood watching.

Doesn’t look like a very honorable duel, Jeremy observed.

By your rules, maybe. Pharynx isn’t using unfair transformations, and Winter isn’t relying on her wind abilities. Perfectly fair to us, Eira explained, and Jeremy shrugged.

“You’re not going to interfere and claim that ‘fighting is wrong’?” Chrysalis snarked, looking at Jeremy.

“If it’s an honorable fight, then Pharynx has nothing to learn from an intervention. Besides, trying to interrupt that would just put me back in the hospital,” Jeremy snorted.

“I just hope they don’t hit each other too hard,” Thorax worried.

“Would you lot – ungh! – quit commentating – hrk! – on my fight?!” Pharynx demanded, landing some hard kicks and receiving a few in return.

“Sorry!” Jeremy called back, and fell silent.

Thorax seemed antsy as he watched, shifting on his lime-green hooves as his glance flickered between Pharynx and the ground. Finally, Winter pinned Pharynx to the ground, grinning wickedly down at him.

“I… win…” she panted.

Pharynx snarled up at her. “You’ll win… when I’m… dead…” he growled back, struggling.

No deathmatches, Pharynx. I need you alive, Jeremy reminded him sternly.

Am I… am I allowed to defend my own honor? Thorax asked timidly. Every changeling, Jeremy and Eira looked at him incredulously.

…Yes, Thorax. Yes, you are, Chrysalis answered after a moment, sounding as though she were about to burst out laughing.

Thorax seemingly made up his mind and marched towards Winter and Pharynx, squaring his withers. “I’ll take it from h-here, brother,” he called out, and both Pharynx and Winter looked at him in amazement.

Winter’s expression quickly shifted, however, into a smirk, before erupting into full-blown laughter. “You? You’re going to stop hiding behind your hatchmate’s legs and fight me? I could crush you in a blow!” she jeered.

Angered, Thorax reared back his hoof while she was laughing, and struck her square in the center of her chest.

Winter’s laughter caught in her throat as the sheer force of the blow sent her flying backwards, smacking into the wall with such an echoing crash that she actually indented the stone and ice. Thorax’s furious expression quickly shifted to horror, and he rushed forward, levitating a dazed Winter out of the hole.

“Oh my goodness! I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to hit you that hard! Are you okay?” he worried, checking over her. She shook off her daze quickly, and looked at him with something like fear.

“Brother… where in the world did you learn to hit like that?” Pharynx queried, having gotten up and staring at Thorax in utter bafflement.

Thorax rubbed his front hooves together in embarrassment. “Well, I… was watching you fight sometimes,” he mumbled.

“Can you normally do that?” Jeremy asked, halfway between disapproval and amusement.

Thorax hesitantly nodded. “I became this strong after… metamorphosing, but… I didn’t want to hurt anybody else, so… I kept it secret,” he softly revealed.

Pharynx’s jaw dropped. “And here I wondered why you were acting so careful! You’ve been holding back on me, brother!” Thorax grinned and looked away in embarrassment.

Winter looked at him curiously, cocking her head, before bowing low. “I accept defeat, King Thorax,” she proclaimed before backing away slowly.

Thorax watched her go in confusion. “Did I just… win?” he asked, utterly baffled. Jeremy shrugged, unsure as well.

Five minutes later, the now-large group had entered through another portal into Manehattan, where night had already fallen. The stares the changelings were receiving before were nothing compared to the ones they were receiving now, as the windigos walked- and in some cases, drifted – uncertainly beside them.

“What are all those lights?” Gwyneira complained.

“Billboards and streetlamps, child. Strange, that they of all things got reinvented…” Eira murmured.

“Perhaps they spread to another culture, and spread back? I agree, that’s interesting,” Star Swirl noted.

“What else around here is familiar to you?” Jeremy asked Eira.

She looked around for a bit. “That… animated picture, over there. We had those, but I don’t think they were quite as sophisticated.”

Jeremy followed her gaze to find a movie theater, bright animated posters advertising the latest picks. So pre-Equestrian civilization had made it to the Technological Age. Progress was set back pretty far, if the three tribes could barely make fire and wooden constructs, he noted with dismay.

“Many of our artifacts were of stone and metal, child. It may be that they survived the war, and ponies simply began reusing them,” Eira pointed out.

Star Swirl and A.K. Yearling’s jaws dropped in perfect unison. “You mean all those ‘modern artifacts’ I’ve been finding in ancient temples weren’t the result of transdimensional meddling?” Star Swirl exclaimed in outrage.

Eira shrugged. “Probably,” she dismissed.

“Did Equestria have an unusually fast technological progression? That would be consistent with finding and reusing more advanced technology,” Jeremy pointed out to Star Swirl.

He stroked his beard in thought. “I don’t have many points of reference to go off of, but now that you mention it, we didn’t have much of that incubation period of stone and wooden tools that other civilizations did. We just… skipped straight to aluminum and brass roughly fifty years after founding the country.”

Eira, was iron or steel ever used in your civilization? Jeremy asked curiously.

“Iron’s rare, child. Only found in meteorites, as far as I remember. Nickel and cobalt were a bit easier to find, but we didn’t use it for much architecturally. Stone was our preferred medium,” Eira answered out loud.

“Iron’s not rare anymore,” Star Swirl snorted. “We found a deposit deeper within Canterlot, as well as a few elsewhere. It’s roughly as common as nickel now.” Eira digested this information with a frown. They stopped in front of the hotel that they had left earlier that morning, and Chrysalis briefly glanced at their new accompaniment.

“Hmm…” she trailed off. Can I convince the hotel to allow us more rooms? she asked.

Unlikely. And I don’t think Yearling has enough vouchers for everyone here. Maybe you could send the Windigos through to the hive? Jeremy posited.

But then they’d be wandering around, lost… I don’t think Nightmare Moon would be very happy at having to watch the hive and introduce them to modern society. Pity I can’t be in two places at once… Chrysalis noted.

I could go back with them, if you like, Thorax offered uncertainly.

Chrysalis looked at him – first in surprise, then in appraisal. That’s a good idea, Thorax. Are you sure you want to miss out on the rest of the expedition, though? she wondered.

I… I think I have my answers. The rest is just historical stuff, right? Well… less alive historical stuff, Thorax noted with a glance at the Windigos.

NEVER call me old again, child, Eira huffed. That being said, we’ll go to the hive. Hopefully it’s up to snuff – you’d better believe I’ll be criticizing every inch of it I can find, she snorted.

“What are we all standing around for?” A. K. Yearling asked irritably, shifting from leg to leg.

Jeremy started as he realized they’d been standing there for a good five minutes. “Sorry, mental conversation. We’ve decided to move the Windigos over to the hive for now, because we don’t think you have enough vouchers for this hotel.”

A. K. checked her bag briefly before nodding. “Yeah, I don’t. What about the rest of us?” she asked.

Jeremy looked at Eira. “Eira, you’d probably know this better than anyone. Where, exactly, was Diligita’s hive located?”

Eira chuckled. “Flattery will get you everywhere, little one. It was south and a touch west of here, located under another mountain range.”

Star Swirl looked at Jeremy. “Foal Mountain, I should think. Though I’m unaware of it having a cave system… I was imprisoned quite close to there, in the town of Hollow Shades,” he explained to Jeremy.

“Looks like we’re heading there, then. It’s probably little more than a ruin after all this time, but if it’s underground we might be able to find something preserved from both the explosion and time,” Jeremy mused.

“I’m coming, too,” Eira decided firmly.

“Me, as well,” Star Swirl added.

“I’ve got three more vouchers here. Anyone else?” A. K. asked, holding them out and looking around. Nobody answered her, however, and after a while the pegasus shrugged and stuffed one of the slips of paper back into her saddlebag. “Alright. Queen Chrysalis, you can send the Windigos through while I talk to the bellhop,” Yearling called over her shoulder as she walked into the hotel.

Chrysalis made to go after her, a snarl making its way to her lips, but stopped herself. Should she be allowed to… order me around like that? she asked, looking at Jeremy.

It was a little rude. Not worth pursuing, though, Jeremy denied.

Chrysalis sighed, and her horn lit up green before she fired a bolt of energy at the hotel wall. It expanded into a swirling portal, through which Nightmare Moon looked at them with some surprise. Several of the smaller changelings were curled up around her, and it looked as though she’d been playing with them for quite a while.

“Finished already?” she wondered, looking past Jeremy and Chrysalis at the Windigos.

“Not quite, we’ve got one more planned stop and possibly something after that. We’re sending these Windigos and Thorax back to the Hive for now because we don’t have room for them here,” Jeremy explained. One of the little ones noticed him, and sprung up, tottering over on unsteady hooves. If Jeremy was remembering its face correctly, this particular little one had just grown out of the larval stage a few days ago.

“Moon play with us lots!” they accused, pointing an imperious hoof at him. “Why you no play more like her?”

Jeremy chuckled even as Chrysalis groaned. “Sorry, kiddo,” he apologized, picking them up and rubbing their snout with a finger. “Dad’s gotta take care of a bunch of boring adult stuff. If it were up to me, I’d be playing with you all the time, as much as you wanted. But… somebody’s gotta deal with all this silly grown-up nonsense,” he explained, kissing their forehead. The tiny changeling grumbled at this, evidently unconvinced.

“The King and Queen do many things that aren’t playing, but are just as important. We have to keep you safe, after all,” Chrysalis added with a smooch of her own.

“No… play more important!” the tiny changeling begged.

“Don’t worry, little ‘ling! I can play with you!” Thorax announced, lifting the changeling out of Jeremy’s grasp and balancing them on his much larger snout.

“Yeey!” the little one cheered, sticking out its tongue at Jeremy and Chrysalis as Thorax carried them back through the portal. Jeremy grinned at their antics, while Chrysalis simply rolled her eyes.

“Anyway… all you other Windigos can follow Thorax through that portal to our hive. It’s… probably not what you’re used to, but we promise we’ll do our best to make you feel at home and safe,” Jeremy explained to the rest of the group.

“Maybe we can finally figure out the friendship fire here!” Gwyneira excitedly proclaimed, jumping through as a gust of cold wind washed past Jeremy and Chrysalis.

“Unlikely… but it beats looking at boring ice sculptures all day,” Winter scoffed, pushing past them and daintily stepping through. The rest of the Windigos followed, albeit with uncertain glances at the glossy black and green changeling throne room.

Once they were gone, Chrysalis closed the portal and turned back to the remainder of the group. “We’re finished for the night. Get some rest, and report at eight in the morning sharp. We’ll likely be spending more time searching than speaking tomorrow,” she ordered, and the assorted changelings saluted before making their way into the hotel.

“Eight? No, no, I’m much too old to be getting up at eight,” Eira complained.

“You’re either old enough for Thorax to call you old, or young enough to deal with it. Can’t have it both ways, Eira,” Jeremy pointed out, and Star Swirl chuckled.

“He’s got you there,” the elderly unicorn agreed.

Eira grumbled under her breath. …Fine, but I won’t like it, she added mentally. Chrysalis snorted with amusement, and on that note, the four of them made for their beds.

“There you are!” Sam called out as soon as Jeremy and Chrysalis entered the shared hallway. It seemed the other six humans had been having some kind of discussion, and Avery hurriedly stowed a few papers at their approach.

“Sorry we’re late, we uh… kind of discovered a living Windigo colony. Pretty cool, huh?” Jeremy remarked, taking a seat by Sam.

“That… wow. They survived, all these years?” Sam wondered, and Jeremy shrugged.

“Survival’s the right word for it. They weren’t exactly living life to the fullest.”

You can say that again! Eira chimed in, still secluded in her room.

“What’cha talking about?” Jeremy wondered.

“Uh… well, Element stuff, mostly. Nick figured out how to use his Element of Generosity today!” Sam announced.

“Hey, cool! What’s it do?” Jeremy asked.

“It can turn into anything rare. So, like, if we really needed a key or something and there was only one key that looked like that in the entire world, it would turn into that,” Nick explained.

“That… sounds really useful,” Jeremy noted, and Avery snorted.

“Told you. Anytime someone thinks they’re useless, they turn out to be one of the most powerful characters,” he lectured at Nick, who simply rolled his eyes with a grin.

“Yeah, yeah. I guess it’s cool. I’ve… mostly been using it to transform into super-rare coins,” he admitted.

Jeremy chuckled. “I feel you on that one. The thrill of just holding one, am I right?”

Nick broke into a wide smile. “Finally, someone gets it!” he exclaimed in relief, and the other humans laughed.

“So, what’s the plan for tomorrow?” Sam asked.

“We’re heading down southwest to the ruin of Diligita’s old hive. A Windigo named Eira and Star Swirl the Bearded are also coming,” Jeremy recapped.

“Wait. Star Swirl? As in, the Star Swirl?” Nick asked incredulously.

“Eight hundred and twenty-seven!” Star Swirl called from somewhere off to the right, behind a door.

“And here I thought that was just a changeling messing with me,” Nick grumbled as Jeremy laughed.

“Yeah, him. We found him researching the Windigo colony. Turns out he was super wrong about the whole ‘they started the entire war’ thing. Who knew?”

Avery raised an eyebrow. “Okay, so… who did start the war?” he asked suspiciously.

“Queen Diligita of the changelings orchestrated the whole thing. Supposedly, some beast that devoured love and killed everything in its path was going to attack the planet, so she got rid of all the love in the continent to try and convince it to go away. As far as we know, it worked, too,” Jeremy recapped.

Avery gazed at him unblinkingly, before shrugging. “Huh. Plot twist, I guess,” he replied after a moment.

“Anyway, I’m gonna head to bed. Anyone need anything?” Jeremy asked, to a chorus of ‘no’s. “Cool. Next journey starts tomorrow at eight, so be sure to set your phone alarms,” he informed them as he exited the group. He contentedly entered Chrysalis’ room, the changeling queen herself in tow, and after the usual nightly routine, snuggled up to her again.

“You think you’re going to have another prophetic dream?” she asked.

Jeremy made a noncommittal grunt. “Dunno… guess we’ll find out.” With that, he let sleep overtake him.

The Flower World was cloudy and stormy, much more so than it had been earlier. Dark thunderclouds swirled overhead at paces faster than should be possible, and wind swept through the endless plain so that it appeared every flower was quivering from fear at the oncoming storm. Jeremy looked around in surprise and dismay, unused to seeing such chaos in such an idyllic place. This was his dream world, right? Then why was everything so… chaotic? He had some emotional turmoil at the thought of discovering lost changeling history, but he didn’t think it was this much. This wasn’t a result of his emotional state, then. He looked around curiously. He was still in the patch of black-stemmed, green flowers, in the very center of the clearing. A black rose was here, all the other flowers pointing to it almost as if bowing. A new flower was beside it, gray and wilting and looking quite out-of-place. It looked as though it had once been quite a vibrant flower, but was nearing the end of its lifespan. Jeremy approached the black rose cautiously, unsure if it would accept or reject his advance.

“You’re… the old queen, aren’t you,” he whispered.

The rose stiffened, shying away from him, and without even having to touch it, he caught whispers of its thoughts. Danger! Ruin! Leave! It hissed, unwilling to touch him.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” Jeremy replied, slightly confused.

Liar! Monster! Danger! The flower hissed back.

Anxious, Jeremy backed off. “I’m not here to hurt you,” he repeated from a greater distance, having to shout a little to make his voice heard over the wind. “I’m here to help you, if you would only show me how!”

As if called, two vines wrapped around his legs, forcing him to the ground.

“Wha-?!” Jeremy exclaimed, his knees impacting the dirt with a thump as the rose extended forward, acting more like an eye on a stalk as its stem extended impossibly to get a closer ‘look’ at him. Thorns were appearing all over the rose, and for the first time, Jeremy wished he could awaken from this impossible nightmare. Shivering and struggling to escape his bonds, he felt cold, adrenaline-laden fear suffuse his entire body. The rose was sharpening now, ebony petals aligning into a lethal tip that reminded him eerily of the tip of Chrysalis’ horn.

“Wait… don’t hurt me! I’m not your enemy!” he begged, to no effect. As the tip neared closer and closer, he closed his eyes and looked away, wondering how much it would hurt to die in a dream world.

There was a swish as the blade sliced cleanly through the air…

But it never hit.

Jeremy opened his eyes and stared in shock at the blade just above him. It was posed, quivering just inches from his chest, but not moving forward. Something was pressing into his chest. He looked down, and was greeted with the last sight he expected to see. The green-and-black flower he was used to hugging had appeared in front of him, the inky black roots still covered in dirt from where they had sprung from the ground below. The green petals were all as outstretched as they can go, reminding him of someone heroically standing in front of a weapon to protect an innocent about to be slain. The rose quivered still, trying to poke its way around or through the green, wider flower, but seemed unwilling to simply puncture straight through it.

Traitor, destroyer! Monster, demon, evil! Flee! It hissed and whispered, still trying to get around the stubborn flower protecting him. Feelings of rage and sadness washed over Jeremy, centuries of rage and grief pouring out from the rose as it glowed with a brilliant green inner light. The world around Jeremy vanished into blackness, and he beheld a pair of swirling red eyes staring at him. They looked… familiar… but how was that possible? None of this made sense.

The Flower World slowly returned, coloring back in as though drawn into existence, and Jeremy again gazed at the black rose that was trying so hard to end him. The flower pressing into his chest had wilted somewhat at the onslaught of negative emotions, but it was already recovering. It glowed green, echoing the rose’s glimmering power.

Shield, protector, father, brother. Caretaker, leader, food-gatherer… not a monster. Never a monster, it whispered, seemingly arguing with the rose. Positive emotions radiated from the green, massive flower, washing over Jeremy and the area just as the rage and grief of the black rose had just a minute ago. He felt… warm. Safe. He was acutely aware of someone rubbing his chest, murmuring something comforting and soft into his ears as they tried their best to soothe him.

The rose paused, no longer quivering or attempting to dodge past the larger green flower. Slowly, warily, the bladed tip retracted, until it was once more a simple black rose atop a vivid green stem. It zoomed backward, stem vanishing into the earth until it was once more a normal flower. The vines released their hold on him, and the green flower that had protected his life leaned towards his chest. Jeremy began holding it tightly, just as he had before, letting the comforting and familiar sensation of warmth wash over him. The green flowers around him slowly turned to point at him and their larger counterpart, as if taking notice of this, and he held the larger flower tighter.

“Thank you. You saved my life,” he whispered.

As he held the flower, stroking its petals gently and slowly relaxing, the clouds overhead disappeared, blown away as the sunlight brightened to what it had been before. Finally, when he was as comfortable as he could be, he gently stood up, giving one last tousle to the flower in front of him. That done, he approached the black rose again.

“There must be some way I can help you, now that you’re here. Show me what I need to do,” he whispered again to it, reaching out slowly, gently to touch a single petal.

The rose didn’t shy away this time, and actually pressed forward to bump into his finger faster. A series of images flashed through his mind.

A single tunnel, at the base of a mountain, a shimmering surface of magic disguising the entrance as an outcropping of rock shaped like a heart.

Deep underground, a single door, emblazoned with magical fire in the shape of a glowing green heart, still burning despite a millennium of neglect.

Inside the door, atop the ruined remains of a throne, a single, glimmering crystal of deepest, impossibly clear green.

These images burned themselves into Jeremy’s mind.

He awoke with a gasp.

Chapter 19

Chrysalis was staring at him as he awoke, and for a moment as he gazed back, her eyes reminded him of that crystal, an entire world seemingly reflected in their depths as she stared worriedly at him.

“That must have been some nightmare,” she whispered, carefully making her way across the bed to cuddle into his chest.

“Yeah. It… yeah,” Jeremy agreed, his voice raw and hoarse, unsure what to say.

“Are you alright?” she asked, rubbing a hoof on his chest. Jeremy swallowed roughly.

“I… can I have some time to collect my thoughts?” he asked, getting up off the bed as his joints crackled and ached in fatigue.

“…Of course,” Chrysalis agreed, smiling at him. “Take as much time as you need…”

Jeremy smiled back at her, feeling more tired than he had ever felt in his life. He quietly exited their room, stepping out into the hallway of the hotel.

Thirty minutes later, he had found what he needed. The moon was still up, and the clocks indicated that it was a little past three in the morning – he’d only gotten a bare few hours of sleep. Still, what he had to do was more important. A notepad and pencil lay beside him, ‘borrowed’ from the hotel’s front desk. Sitting under the moonlight, Jeremy began to write.

Flower World

A mysterious world that only seems to exist in dreams.

He paused, pondering the page for a moment. Then he crossed out a line, and began writing again.

Flower World Eden

A mysterious world that only seems to exist in dreams.

Grimacing, he crossed it out again.

Flower WorldEden The Garden

A mysterious world that only seems to exist in dreams.

Sighing, he decided to come back to that later.

Flower WorldEden The Garden

A mysterious world that only seems to exist in dreams. Flowers of all shapes and sizes are found here. They seem to represent people in some way, each individual person being represented by one flower. Maybe they’re souls? Dreaming minds? Or some more abstract representation of a person?

Jeremy mused for a bit. Was speculation worth including? He supposed this was more a stream-of-consciousness writing than a proper scientific document.

Flower WorldEden The Garden

A mysterious world that only seems to exist in dreams. Flowers of all shapes and sizes are found here. They seem to represent people in some way, each individual person being represented by one flower. Maybe they’re souls? Dreaming minds? Or some more abstract representation of a person?

The Tree of Harmony can be found here. It may not like being touched.

Some flowers may also react to being touched. For some, they seem to ‘enjoy’ the sensation. Others may shy away, or even attempt to attack you. Others still may present you with visions, ranging from memories to impossible third-person perspectives of historical events. This appears to be a primary method of communication.

There are also flowers with unusual characteristics. A blue flower with two ‘heads’, slightly different colors, which attempt to pull themselves apart should one get near. A much larger flower with a black stem and many hundreds of green petals, which is generally friendly and enjoys being rubbed and petted. A black rose, which should be avoided unless you have the large, green flower accompanying you. It is not necessarily hostile, but merely extremely distrustful of strangers.

There is only a single other living being in this place. An alicorn, of purest white coat and powder-blue hair. She is rare to find or even see, but may control the realm or have some power over it. She does not appear to be hostile in any meaningful way, but one gets the sense this is born more of divine indifference than any feeling of equality.

It is unknown if one can find their own flower in this strange land. Equally, it is unknown what the result of touching it may be. Best not to try.

Unsure what else to write, Jeremy quietly tore the top page off of the notepad and put the pencil and notepad back where they belonged, taking a moment to gaze at the un-staffed hotel front desk. Silently, he returned to his room.

Chrysalis was asleep, and the bedside mechanical clock showed that it was now five in the morning. Sighing softly, Jeremy placed the document on their bedside table and climbed into bed with her, pulling the covers over himself and Chrysalis closer for warmth. Hopefully he’d get some more sleep tonight. Chrysalis mumbled something unintelligible, and he stroked her hair, smiling slightly, and drifted off.

Jeremy awoke to find Chrysalis smooching him on the forehead. “It’s seven-thirty, dear. Time to awake and prepare the troops,” she whispered once she saw his eyes open. Jeremy snorted. “Prepare the troops… you make it sound like we’re martialing an army,” he answered, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and standing up. He stretched, a cacophony of cracks sounding through the morning air of the hotel room as his vertebrae readjusted, and set about getting dressed. As he pulled on his sweater, he noticed the paper he had written last night was missing. He thought he’d set it right beside him on the dresser… maybe he’d left it downstairs? Well, there was no sense wasting time looking for it. He could always write it out again, or something. Feeling unusually well-rested for such an early morning awakening, he followed Chrysalis downstairs.

Breakfast was an affair plentiful with fruits – oranges, apples, bananas, plums, and grapes. Jeremy tried to eat as much as he could, as they’d be doing a lot of walking today. Several changelings, Eira, Gwyneira, Star Swirl, and the other humans were already at the table, looking distinctly unhappy at being awake so early. The other humans glared at the fruit on their plates as though they had committed a personal act of war against all humanity.

“Any bacon? Or coffee?” Cory grumbled, picking through a few orange slices with a fork.

“Don’ think they have those here,” Sam slurred, popping another grape into his mouth and swallowing it whole.

“They definitely do… the coffee, at least,” Nick grumbled.

“Could be worse, they could be serving hay today,” Jeremy quipped to the groans of the whole table.

“How are you so awake? Normally you’re the one out cold until 10 in the morning,” Sam griped.

Jeremy shrugged. “Dunno… I just feel well-rested. Which is weird, because I got maybe six hours of sleep total.”

Sam rolled his eyes. “…Anyway… you think this one will be a bit more eventful?” he asked.

Jeremy shrugged again, deliberately exaggerating it this time. “Thought the last one would be pretty boring, but we ended up finding a colony of Windigos. Thought the first one would be interesting, but we found a rock. At this point, it’s pretty much a coin flip,” he snarked.

Nick took out an ancient-looking coin, and flipped it for dramatic effect. “Heads,” he announced. “Looks like we’ll find something interesting.”

Everyone at the table chuckled, Eira in particular. “I’d be surprised if anything’s left,” the old Windigo snorted. “If Diligita wanted to blow up a mountain, she wouldn’t have left evidence of even a geological variety.”

Star Swirl snorted. “And yet, Foal Mountain still stands,” he teased, getting a roll of the eyes from Eira as a response.

A few minutes later, they had put their plates away and headed outside into the blustery Manehattan morning. Pegasi were busily arranging clouds overhead, some of them looking a shade darker than normal. Jeremy watched them work with some interest – the buildings of Manehattan were familiar-looking enough to him that the sight of tiny pegasi flitting far above them made him feel uneasy.

Like an ‘uncanny valley’ for a location, he mused.

What was that, dear? Chrysalis asked, and Jeremy swiftly turned his gaze back down towards the ground.

“Nothing,” he spoke aloud. “Everyone ready?”

There was a chorus of assent from the assorted humans, changelings, ponies and windigo, and Chrysalis thrusted her horn forward, her magic crackling slightly as another portal opened. Jeremy gazed through it to find a grassy plain, a tall mountain visibly sloping upward just off to the left.

“Hrm. Have you visited Foal Mountain before?” Star Swirl wondered, looking at her.

“I memorized Equestria’s geography when I was planning to invade. I’m well familiar with the landmarks,” Chrysalis snorted.

Star Swirl glared at her. “Did you now,” he growled.

Chrysalis raised an eyebrow at him coolly. “Is there a problem?” she coldly inquired.

Star Swirl glared at her for a moment more, then looked away. “…No. Lead on,” he muttered.

Is he alright? Jeremy wondered.

“Hey, are you alright?” Chrysalis repeated, her expression shifting to a more sympathetic one as she moved closer to Star Swirl.

His head jerked up, mouth opened to deliver a sharp retort before something in him seemed to deflate. “…I’ve spent a thousand years believing that those who walk a path of darkness are irredeemable. It’s… hard to let that go,” Star Swirl admitted.

“Then believe the evidence of your eyes, Star Swirl,” Jeremy replied. “People change and grow all the time. Sometimes, they just need a little push. Sometimes, it takes years. But if they have others willing to make that investment for them, then the world becomes a little better.”

Star Swirl looked at him in surprise for a moment, then scoffed. “When did you get so smart?” he snorted.

Jeremy grinned. “I’m just repeating what I was taught.” On that note, he stepped through the portal.

Immediately, he recognized the place, as though he’d lived here his whole life and was only just now returning. A gentle breeze blew through the nearby trees, and the sun shone brightly overhead. The grass beneath them was damp with dew, and rushing water could be heard off in the distance.

Eira looked around in wonder. “Eleven hundred years… eleven hundred years, and it looks just the same,” she sighed contentedly.

The sound of train horn cut through the air, startling her and causing Jeremy and Sam to whirl around, looking for the source of the earsplitting noise. Just above the treetops, a plume of white steam could be seen rising through the morning air, vanishing into the atmosphere as it quickly condensed in the cold.

Eira growled at this intruder. “Well, mostly the same,” she amended, glaring at the offending train as it receded into the distance.

“Where’s the entrance?” Sam asked.

“Right here,” Jeremy answered, walking forward. He’d seen this place before, in his dreams. Diligita had wanted him here from the very beginning. The heart-shaped outcropping looked as natural as any of the stone around it, but Jeremy knew it was fake. He thrust his hand towards it, expecting it to phase through as with any other changeling illusion, but his palm slapped against the stone as though it were real.

“What the-?” Jeremy muttered.

“Step aside, youngling,” Eira muttered. She placed a hoof on the rock’s surface.

“Do we need to unlock it with something?” Avery wondered.

“Yes. It unlocks with… love, if I recall. You two, make out,” she demanded, glancing at Jeremy and Chrysalis. The assorted humans stifled shocked laughter, and Jeremy grinned at Chrysalis.

“Well. If it’s for the sake of science, I suppose I could…” he trailed off.

“Oh, shut up, you,” Chrysalis retorted, and reared upward to kiss him on the lips. Jeremy tried to contain his laughter and nervousness and focus on the kiss, moving closer into her embrace after a moment as he felt a warmth inside.

“…Wow,” he heard Sam comment, and snorted with amusement.

“Okay, it’s open,” Eira called.

She waited a moment.

“You two can stop now,” she tried again, with a hint of irritation.

“JEREMY, YOUR ROBOT’S MELTING!” Sam called out, and Jeremy’s eyes shot open as adrenaline surged through him.

“Wha – SAM!” he exclaimed, stomping a foot on the ground in mock fury. Sam burst out laughing, quickly joined by the others as Jeremy blushed in realization and embarrassment.

“You two can make out later. We’re on a mission,” Avery stressed, gesturing towards the heart-shaped rock outcropping, which had already vanished to form a heart-shaped entrance. Eira was already inside, tapping a hoof impatiently at the lot of them. Blushing harder, Jeremy and Chrysalis both quickly moved to join her.

“’Your robot’s melting’?” Pharynx whispered to Sam, who merely laughed.

“Don’t even ask,” Jeremy exclaimed, still embarrassed.

The tunnel inside, unlike the tunnel to the Windigo caves, was vibrant and warm. Green gemstones glimmered everywhere in the darkness, seemingly giving off small amounts of light to guide them.

“This place was much better lit when I was last here…” Eira trailed off.

“I don’t think even Diligita would keep the lights on for eleven hundred years,” Avery rebutted. “Waste of magic.”

Eira nodded approvingly. “Aye, likely she diverted her attention to other things.” Star Swirl looked around a few times before returning his gaze straight ahead, evidently unimpressed by the pretty colors.

As they traveled down the tunnel, they were suddenly met with a well-carved, rectangular corridor, which had several doors.

“Diligita’s trick rooms,” Eira groaned. “Step through a wrong door and you’ll wind up at this entrance again. She put me through these more times than I could count.” She looked around. “There’s always some kind of clue as to which is the correct door…” she muttered.

“Would the one that’s already open be too obvious?” Sam asked, pointing to one which was, in fact, missing its door entirely.

Eira looked at it suspiciously. “…Seems like the kind of thing she might do. Let’s try it,” she decided.

“It’s clearly meant to lure us in,” Star Swirl retorted.

“That’s what she wanted you to think,” Eira smugly shot back, stepping towards the doorway.

“I’m gonna stop this circular argument now. Worst-case scenario, we try it and end up back here,” Jeremy decided, walking through the doorway after Eira.

As soon as he was through, however, the stone passageway began to rumble and shake as the stone door appeared to close it off, hidden inside a crevasse on the side. Quick as a flash, Jeremy stuck his shoe through the door, stopping it from closing.

“You okay?” Sam called, as he and Chrysalis hurried over to try and pull open the door.

“We’re fine,” Jeremy answered, looking back at the corridor ahead of them to make sure no trap had been sprung. It looked perfectly ordinary, as far as he could tell, and sloped further downward. “Diligita might just want to speak to us two,” Eira mused.

“Oh, Tartarus no. I am not waiting for some centuries-dead queen just to be denied audience!” Star Swirl exclaimed, lighting his horn and forcing the door back open with a crash. Everyone else stared at him as he panted and heaved, evidently winded.

“…You okay?” A. K. Yearling asked.

Star Swirl glared at her. “I’m fine. I’m just sick of all the secrets and mystery. I want answers. Now,” he snapped, pushing past Jeremy and Eira before vanishing into the gloom. Avery tugged at the collar of his shirt uncomfortably.

“Uh… Alright. Cool. Let’s… go through?” Sam motioned to the others, cautiously moving forward.

You know, I think I’m finally beginning to understand why you put so much emphasis on ‘culture’ and ‘tradition’. That was… infuriating, Pharynx spoke to Thorax through the hivemind, hissing with anger.

“He’s been through a lot… but yeah, that was rude,” Jeremy agreed.

“No sense standing around here when we can go say it to his face. Come on,” Eira demanded.

They quickly found Star Swirl at a dead end, looking furious. “It closed on me!” he shouted, pounding at the solid back wall. “The door was right there, and it closed on me as I approached!”

Eira snorted. “Probably because you forced the door open. You think a changeling hive wouldn’t feel insulted by that?”

Star Swirl rounded on her. “I have had it with your clever tongue, mare! Get us to where we need to go, and no more shortcuts!” he snarled.

He’s… not himself… Jeremy noted. He stepped forward, standing between Star Swirl and Eira. “Dunno what’s gotten into you, Star Swirl, but you need to calm down. We won’t find any answers if you keep raging at inconveniences.”

“INCONVENIENCES?!” Star Swirl shrieked, slamming a hoof down on the stone. Jeremy noted in his peripheral vision that the tunnel had expanded significantly. Almost as if it were forming an arena. “You, boy, are about to learn the meaning of inconvenience,” Star Swirl growled, stepping menacingly forward. As he glared up at Jeremy, the Element of Love could swear he saw a flash of red in those eyes.

And then he leaped forward.

Star Swirl began his attack by launching magical beams at him, simple straight-lined things that were easy to dodge after Jeremy’s fights with Tirek and Daybreaker. He ducked and rolled, circling around Star Swirl so that he wouldn’t accidentally hit any of the others.

“What’s Star Swirl doing?!” Kylie exclaimed in shock.

“He’s gone mad,” Eira muttered.

“What are we waiting for?! Let’s get in there and beat him back to his senses!” Pharynx exclaimed.

“Pharynx, don’t commentate on my fight,” Jeremy retorted. Surprised, Pharynx fell silent.

You got a plan? Chrysalis asked.

He might be angry, but he’s still getting on in years. Should be possible to exhaust him like I did Tirek, Jeremy replied. He dodged another blast, hopping over it like he was playing leapfrog before sprinting to the left. Star Swirl panted and heaved as he fired volley after volley of beams at him.

You know, one would think Star Swirl the Bearded would have a more intelligent attacking pattern than this, Jeremy noted.

That he would. You think he’s possessed? Eira wondered.

Something’s been making him angrier since we got here. It might have started off slow at first, but as we got closer to the goal… Jeremy trailed off.

Why, though? Why target him, when there are stronger magic users nearby? Chrysalis wondered.

Not stronger… smarter. Whatever it is, it’s targeting what it thinks is the most experienced magic user in the room, Jeremy posited.

It’s a distraction, Pharynx spoke, sounding unusually urgent. It means to slow us down. We must find another way to our destination! Jeremy acknowledged this, just barely missing a particularly wide beam of magic.

Move out, find another way, he commanded. I’ll stay here and keep this going. You’re looking for a door with fire in the shape of a green heart, and then a ruined throne. What we’re looking for is atop that throne. Pharynx grunted to show he’d received the message, and the changelings quickly departed, herding the confused humans and A. K. Yearling back the way they had come. Star Swirl watched them go, stopping his onslaught for just a moment.

“Not gonna work, kiddo,” Jeremy growled. “We’re going to reach the end, no matter what you possess to try and stop us.” Star Swirl’s eyes widened in shock, before he slumped to the ground, out cold. His hat spilled to the floor, revealing his horn, which glowed a dull red before quickly fading to its usual gray. Without time to comment on such an unusual occurrence, Jeremy slung the defeated unicorn over his shoulder and sprinted to catch up with the others.

He found another door had been opened, and vaulted the steps beyond it, rushing down the passageway and ignoring the pain in his legs every time he jumped a flight of stairs. Something had been trying to distract them, which meant they were on a time limit. He had to go faster. Adrenaline surged through his veins as he jumped gaps in the floor, dived through narrow-walled openings, and climbed ledges. Part of him questioned why he wasn’t catching up to the others yet, but too much of him was focused on reaching the end.

Finally, the door was in front of him, just past a few more gaps. The swirling green flames adorned the door with a heart-shaped pattern, and he flung himself against the door with all his might, bursting through into the throne room.

The others were clustered around the throne, and Chrysalis was glowing with a bright pink energy as she held something, eyes clenched and snarling in effort. Jeremy set Star Swirl down gently before striding forward to examine what she was looking at. It was the gem he’d seen in his dream… but now, it was different. The impossible depths of the gem were darkening, turning gray before his very eyes.

Eira glared at him with wide eyes. Do something! She demanded. My Queen is in there! Jeremy’s eyes widened, and he took Chrysalis’ hooves in his hands, adding his own power to hers. His Element of Love glowed fiercely, but nothing seemed to happen. And something was pushing against his head, as insistently as though… as though it wanted to get in.

“Why isn’t it working?!” Chrysalis hissed desperately, as the last vestiges of green threatened to vanish from the crystal. Jeremy closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. The last time he’d done this, he’d nearly died.

He opened his mind completely, reaching through the hivemind towards what he thought might be there. Almost immediately, a torrent of emotions flowed through him, just the same as when he first joined the hivemind.

“It’s working! Whatever you’re doing, keep doing it!” Eira ordered. Jeremy grunted in pain as the all-too-familiar tornado of emotion and mental energy swirled through him, the magical lights around him shifting from pink to green. As he grimaced and struggled, he became aware that he wasn’t the only one in pain. There were others, too, others who had lost the strength to withstand such mental anguish. Determination welled up inside him, pushing back the pain, and he enveloped their minds with his own, shielding them from the outside forces even as the strain on his own mind increased. Chrysalis, seeing what he was doing, added her mental force to his, reducing the pain significantly as she did her best to block out the sensations. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the roaring stopped, leaving the two of them to slump to the ground, exhausted. But they were no longer alone.

Queen Diligita stepped out of nothing, surveying Jeremy with a look of displeasure. She looked… shimmery, as though she wasn’t quite physically real.

“Get up, I know you’re able,” she commanded of him. Jeremy got into a sitting position, nearly blacking out then and there as stars swam in his head. “…Perhaps not,” Diligita allowed. She lit her horn, and the blackness in his vision receded. Chrysalis sat up as well, and together they got their first look at the Queen who had caused this whole mess.

Her hair was similar in style to Chrysalis’ own, though much darker teal in color, and her inner irises were a deep, ocean blue instead of Chrysalis’ forest green. She stood tall, taller even than Chrysalis’ imposing stature but roughly as slim, giving her a slightly stretched look in Jeremy’s opinion.

From my perspective, Chrysalis looks slightly squashed. Life is strange, Diligita spoke up.

“M-my Queen!” Eira proclaimed excitedly, all irritation gone as she prostrated before Diligita’s illusory form.

“Eira,” Diligita spoke with a tired smile. “I… am so sorry for what I have put you through. You’ve grown, my little snowstorm…”

Eira blushed, looking away. “It was nothing. All of it was worth it, just to see you one more time…” she breathed, gazing at Diligita rapturously.

Diligita moved forward, taking Eira into what looked like a surprisingly physical hug. “I wish I could stay, but…” Diligita trailed off.

“Please! There must be some way! You’d never have allowed me to die and leave you behind!” Eira begged, tears streaming down her face.

“Sadly, I must. I… I am so tired, Eira. I spent eleven hundred years guarding each and every one of the changelings I had killed, preventing them from dying until they could be reborn again by a living Queen. For so long, I thought… but it doesn’t matter now. I am nearly gone, Eira. Even the love of a thousand years of peacetime wasn’t enough to keep the whole hive going for a thousand more. Even now, I am… fading. Joining my fellow Queens, and… oh, Hespera, child…” Diligita paused, tearing up. Jeremy and Chrysalis heard some raspy words through the hivemind, and though they couldn’t quite make out what she was saying, Hespera sounded encouraging.

“I… of course I’ll tell them. Queen Chrysalis… King Jeremy…” Diligita trailed off. “I am so proud of you for coming this far. Through all the hardship I gave you, through battles and heartbreak and death, you have made it here, exceeding my expectations at every turn. And… Thorax,” she noted. “You will make a very fine… well, whatever your position is. I suspect even you don’t know.”

I – I’ll do my best, my… my Queen, Thorax mentally stammered, seemingly embarrassed at being addressed despite not being present.

Finally, Diligita returned her gaze to Eira. “I know you must think this new world a strange one. I have seen Chrysalis’ thoughts, her feelings, and they are so unlike my own. But… give them a chance, little snowstorm. They are the future, and we… are the past. It is time to move on.”

Eira shook her head viciously. “No… Diligita, I can’t! I can’t lose you again, not after I’ve finally got you back!”

Diligita smiled. “You? Lose me? I think you forget who is the Queen, and who is the consort.” Eira smiled sadly.

“Can’t you speak with her, once you enter the hivemind? Keep her company?” Jeremy asked softly.

Diligita looked at him forlornly. “Such would take vast amounts of love. Not as much as you showed earlier, but…” she trailed off as Jeremy smiled at her.

“For you, I would,” he affirmed, and his Element glowed pink as love energy trailed between Diligita’s form, Eira and himself.

“A-are you sure? I… haven’t exactly been the most polite, I know, but…” Eira trailed off, looking desperate.

Jeremy put a hand on her withers. “You… are family. Not by blood, but by our shared heart and shared mind. And family never turns their back on one another,” he vowed.

Eira lowered her gaze to the floor, looking much smaller and younger than Jeremy had ever seen her. Before he could react, she embraced him in a hug. “I take back what I said earlier,” she whispered. “You have been a worthy King from the very beginning, and I… have been very foalish.”

Diligita embraced the pair of them as well, but she appeared to be fading out, becoming more transparent before their very eyes. “I am glad to spend the rest of eternity with you… my love,” she whispered, and finally disappeared.

Chapter 1

[Goodness.]

[That is the absolute last time I make a game.]

[From now on, I’m sticking to storytelling.]

[Chapter 1...]

They say that heroes are always ready to fight, no matter their injury or trauma.

Heroes never falter, never cry out in pain, or beg for the sweet, sweet mercy of death.

If that was true, then Jeremy was by no means a hero. He tossed and turned, groaning as the pain in every cell of his body sent a unanimous message to his brain, demanding that it do something to end the suffering. His brain, which was hurting just like the rest of him, elected to send a halfhearted shrug back, resulting in mass revolt of his nervous system.

He faded in and out of consciousness, thoughts looping and circulating in dazed, broken patterns that wouldn’t have made any sense even if he were lucid. Hours, perhaps days, passed by in the broken stupor. Occasionally, he would feel a cooling sensation on his forehead, as though some outside force were trying to help him. But, inevitably, the pain would return, and he would lose his grasp on reality and slip back into the unending torment.

Finally, he managed to gather enough strength and consciousness to open his eyes, just a crack. Two gray-blue, stormy irises got their first glimpse at the special hell they had been placed in.

…It was pitch black.

There was no light in whatever room he was in, not even from windows or overhead lights. Jeremy managed to lift a hand in front of his face, groaning in pain as his arm muscles protested violently, and saw nothing. Unnerved, he let his hand fall back to his side. As he did, it brushed against the surface he was laying down on, and he became aware that he was on a bed.

For lack of anything else to do, Jeremy felt around his bed. The mattress, bedsheet and even the pillow all felt like they were in tatters, barely holding together. They seemed to be clean, for the most part, which Jeremy was thankful for.

As he lay there, slowly healing, he began to remember how he had gotten into this situation. He’d fallen into Tartarus, a horrific prison for those monsters who had earned themselves a place in Equestrian history as ‘villains.’ Equestria… that name sounded so familiar.

And then another piece clicked into place.

Equestria. My Little Pony. That was where he was! He was in a fictional universe, with fictional characters. Nightmare Moon, Queen Chrysalis, King Sombra, Lord Tirek… they were all just villains out of a story. No… that wasn’t quite right. They weren’t two-dimensional – he’d been able to talk to them. Persuade them to follow him. Convince them of the virtues of friendship. Well… mostly, at any rate. Jeremy wondered where they were now. Had they left him to die, betraying him as soon as they reached the surface world? He honestly hadn’t expected that, and something told him that was not the case. So, where was he? Jeremy resolved to figure that out later, and instead decided to concentrate a bit more on his memories.

If Equestria was a fictional world, then that meant there had to have been a real world that he called home. Its name was…

Earth.

Earth? That was a ridiculous name. Who named their planet “dirt?” Jeremy thought dazedly. Oh, well. There was probably a very good reason it was named Earth. So, where on Earth had he lived?

Seattle, Washington. Nine months of gray, overcast skies, followed by three summer months of mild sunshine and actual rain. Pine trees everywhere, inescapable unless one traveled across the mountains or south to Oregon. You went to a high school there, but not college. Your best friend was…

Jeremy continued for a while longer like this, reliving memories from both his time on Earth and in Equestria. It was though a void in his head were being filled, and with each remembered fact about himself the pain lessened.

Finally, after some hours, he felt like he had remembered everything. Everything important, at least. He made to get up, his joints creaking and snapping back into place as he swung his legs over the bed. After a moment of rest, to build up his strength, he sat up, leaning over instantly as his vision swam with spots of color, and he fought the urge to throw up. He sat there a while, just trying to keep himself upright, swaying slightly as he recovered. Finally, he was feeling better again, and he made to stand.

Instantly, he smacked his head against the ceiling, a muffled curse escaping his lips as he flopped back down onto the bed in renewed pain. The ceiling had been barely a foot over his head when he was sitting – what was this room made for, babies?

As the throbbing in his head slowly subsided, he decided to try again. Through the pitch-blackness, he crawled, wondering if he had gone blind as he felt his way around the place. Despite what he had been expecting, the floor was slightly grimy, and wet, as though he were in some sort of cavern. Had he never escaped Tartarus, then? Had it all been some kind of crazy fever dream? Jeremy resolved to press on and find out. He crawled forward, tapping in front of him to determine whether the surface was safe to crawl over before proceeding.

He hit a curved wall with his finger, and quickly drew back, considering what to do next. There had to be some way he had gotten into this strange room, so there must be some way of exiting it. Jeremy tapped along the wall, moving clockwise as he attempted to find a crevice or some such that he could continue through. As he tapped on a section of the wall, it shuddered slightly, behaving much more like jelly than stone. Jeremy drew back – had he tapped something alive? It occurred to him that he might still be in danger, and he should be more careful.

After a moment, he decided to tap it again. He could always duck out of the way, or something. The ‘wall’ shuddered again, and a hole opened into the room, light shining through and immediately searing his retinas with the most painful afterimages he’d ever dealt with. Muttering and looking away, Jeremy crawled through the hole, and took a moment for his eyes to adjust, grimacing from the pain of overstimulation.

Eventually, he could open his eyes, and he looked around. He was in a vast, blue cavern, holes opening and closing at random. The whole thing was lit overhead by vast globules of some organic, teal phosphorescent substance. There was nobody in the cavern besides him, and Jeremy felt oddly out of place. Where in the world was he? This didn’t look anything like anywhere he’d seen before, either on Earth or Equestria.

Jeremy stumbled forward, slowly remembering how to walk as he looked around. Was he still in the game? Had he been teleported to a new ‘area,’ with new ‘monsters’ to deal with? Or was he on the surface? It was so hard to tell. It certainly felt like he was underground again.

A hole opened above and to his left, and Jeremy looked over as something flew out. It was black and glossy, with midnight blue armor adorning its withers and head as it searched the area with compound blue eyes. As soon as it spotted him, its eyes widened in shock, and it hurriedly flew through another hole that had just opened, exiting the area. Jeremy watched it go forlornly – he’d wanted to talk to it! It was the first living thing he’d seen since he’d woken up, and it probably could tell him a lot more about where he was than he could figure out on his own.

After a moment of deliberation, he elected to follow it, hurriedly stumbling his way up the ledges of the caverns before the strange, jelly-like hole closed again. He just barely made it through, the portal closing behind him and leaving him in a distinctly new area.

This was more familiar, at least to Jeremy’s memories. Wispy black strands of an unidentified substance covered the walls and floor, the light overhead having shifted to a vivid green. He was in a changeling hive, possibly the same one that Queen Chrysalis had once called home. What had brought him here?

For the first time since waking up, he remembered that he had the ability to SAVE his progress via some unspecified means of time travel. Ordinarily, he’d have done so much earlier, but he still wasn’t exactly in the best of shape after the literal hell he’d been through. As he reached out a finger, the SAVE menu appeared, just as it always did. [RESET] and [QUIT] were still present, glowing white and untouched as they had been since as long as he could remember. He pressed the SAVE button, and it glowed red as the world seemingly righted itself from some impossible-to-describe lurch, settling a moment later. Already, he felt much better, the injuries his body had been complaining about earlier having faded to distant, unhappy bruises. Feeling stronger, Jeremy pressed onward.

As he walked down the cavern, he became aware of a voice up ahead – several voices, actually. He took a moment to listen in.

“-just going to let her go back in there? After what he did to her?”

“It’s not like we have a choice! We can’t just kill him, you know that as much as I do.”

“Couldst we not incapacitate him?”

“No… our magic doesn’t quite work right here.”

Jeremy smiled – it seemed his friends hadn’t abandoned him after all. He peeked around the corner, and there they were.

Nightmare Moon was still as regal as ever, her ethereal, royal blue hair waving in an unseen breeze as stars, constellations and galaxies twinkled in its depths. Her coat of fur was still darker than the darkest shade of black, leaving Jeremy with the usual impression that a void of blackness was present where her body should be. Finally, her icy blue adornments glinted in the green light, the white crescent moon inscribed into the front of her peytral winking as she shifted uncomfortably.

King Sombra, the shortest of the group, had the same gruff expression on he always did, looking as though he were about to tell some war story he’d lived through. His mane and tail, while not quite as regal and outstanding as Nightmare Moon’s, still shifted and wafted through the air, more akin to smoke than Nightmare Moon’s eddying river of hair. His crimson red eyes were staring directly at her, strangely lacking the purple smoke that normally leaked out of them, and Jeremy could see his normally glowing red horn was now just a pale reddish-gray. He was still wearing his royal cape and crown, which Jeremy noticed were in tatters by now.

Lord Tirek, by contrast, was by far the largest of the three present. Standing at nearly nine feet tall, he was currently stooping down to avoid hitting the ceiling. His pinkish-red skin appeared darker in the green light, and the gray of his coat appeared scratched and worn, his fetlocks looking as though they badly needed to be trimmed. His white tail and beard looked partially burnt, though Tirek seemed to be paying this no mind. Finally, the golden triangular amulet that had belonged to his brother was still around Tirek’s neck, attached to the silver neckband he normally wore. Jeremy noticed that the electrum braces Tirek had been wearing had been removed, presumably taken off after they had escaped. His horns were still as big as they had been the last time Jeremy saw him, which probably meant Tirek hadn’t absorbed any more magic since they last talked.

As soon as Jeremy peeked around the corner, Nightmare Moon spotted him and her expression lit up.

“Jeremy! Thou art alive!” she practically squealed, launching herself at him as she hugged him with both hooves and both wings.

“Yeah… somehow…” Jeremy answered, sounding parched.

“Our utmost apologies, but we cannot heal thee. It seems something in this place is affecting our magic,” Nightmare Moon sadly responded, noticing his state of health.

Jeremy looked up at her in concern. “Aren’t you made of magic?” he asked worriedly, wondering if she should be moving away from this place.

Nightmare Moon nodded. “Lord Tirek has been sustaining us, at a slight cost to himself. Thus, he cannot perform any feats of magic either. Sombra is powerless as well.”

Sombra grumbled something, and Jeremy turned to him, scooping him up into a hug. “Glad to see you too, Sombra,” Jeremy teased.

Sombra struggled to get away from the hug, though Jeremy could see the slightest smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Okay, enough, let go,” Sombra replied, and Jeremy obediently let him go, Sombra attempting to regain his dignity as he stood up again. Finally, Jeremy turned to Tirek. Tirek appeared wary, but Jeremy simply held out a fist. Tirek bumped it, looking surprised, and Jeremy nodded at him. He knew enough to know that Tirek wasn’t the ‘hugging’ type. Sombra totally was, even if he claimed otherwise.

“So, what’s going on? Where’s Chrysalis?” Jeremy asked, looking around.

Nightmare Moon tugged at her peytral uncomfortably. “She is… well, she was dealing with her King. We are in her old Hive right now, and she managed to regain her position as Queen by convincing him that we were to be sacrificed to feed his power.”

Tirek snorted, and Jeremy turned to him. “As it turns out, that actually would be a quite useful move,” Tirek elaborated. “We are, after all, the most powerful villains in Equestrian history. Hence, Chrysalis managing to regain her title, and her status. Just so you know, we haven’t told anybody you’re here. As far as the King knows, you don’t exist.”

Jeremy sighed, considering this. “The King is the giant changeling we met before, right?” he clarified, looking at Nightmare Moon. She nodded. “Okay… well… I guess I’ll go try to talk to him,” Jeremy muttered.

Nightmare Moon and Sombra immediately objected, lunging forward to stop him, but Tirek grabbed them both and held them back easily. “Let him go,” the centaur ordered them. “If anyone in this world can pull it off, it would be him.”

Nightmare Moon looked uneasy. “But… he is in no fit state to be in combat! At least rest first!” the dream demon pleaded.

Jeremy shook his head. “The longer I wait, the longer you and Chrysalis are in danger.” He made to leave once more, but this time Sombra stopped him.

“Wait! Take this, before you go,” Sombra reminded him, pulling out a familiar, gray heart necklace.

Jeremy glanced at it in surprise, wondering how he had forgotten of its existence so easily. The plastic heart was the size of his fist, and slightly translucent, a hexagonal pattern adorning its surface as it lay in his hand. As he put it on, it began to glow pink, and Jeremy immediately felt much better.

“Be careful, Jeremy,” Nightmare Moon whispered. “Please be careful.”

Jeremy smiled, looking back at her. “I’m always careful,” he answered, and continued onward. As he rounded the corner, heading once again into the unknown, Jeremy smirked.

He hadn’t needed to be careful in a long time now.

Occasionally, a changeling would pass by him, a surprised chittering emitting from their mouth as they stared at the large, gaunt newcomer. Jeremy simply walked onward, a calm expression on his face as he contemplated what he might try in order to show mercy to the King of all changelings.

Finally, a changeling worked up the courage to talk to him. “What are you doing here?” it hissed inquisitively, sounding hushed for some reason.

Jeremy glanced at it curiously, his train of thought interrupted. “I’m going to fix things,” he answered.

More changelings peeked out at this answer, gathering around him. “Are you going to confront the King?” one asked. After a moment of hesitation, Jeremy nodded. The small crowd around him began to whisper to themselves excitedly. “Please help us, sir,” one begged. Jeremy nodded again.

“Tell me,” he began. “What does the King do for you?”

There was a moment of silence.

“…What?” a changeling responded, sounding lost. Jeremy turned to it.

“What does your King do, that you would rather keep him around? Surely, if none of you liked him, you could just kick him out,” he noted.

The changeling forlornly shook its head. “He could crush us in an instant. We are but his servants, to do as he pleases and only as he pleases. We are all linked to the hive mind, our thoughts perusable to all who share the network… including him. With his crown, he can control us, forcing us to do as he wants simply by his power alone. Now that the Queen is back, we can hide our thoughts with her, as only she has enough mental power to shield thoughts from his prying gaze. But… if such a rebellion were ever to become known… he’d kill all of us,” the drone hoarsely whispered.

Jeremy gave it a sympathetic glance, and he noticed that the crowd had become larger, each changeling gazing at the floor sadly as their ears drooped, an occasional short buzz of their wings sounding off their displeasure. He scooped the speaking changeling up in a hug. “It’s okay,” he consoled, the drone looking shocked as he held it close. “I’ll fix it.” The drone looked up at him, its horn narrowly missing his neck.

“With all due respect, sir… I don’t think you can. You might have stood a chance if you had Starlight Glimmer or Thorax here, but the King’s chamber is deep underground, and covered in Hesperite.”

Jeremy raised an eyebrow. “What’s Hesperite?” he asked curiously.

“It’s a mineral we found that blocks all magic except for changeling magic,” another drone explained. “The Queen’s throne used to be made of it, until it was… destroyed.” Jeremy stored this information for later.

“Without any magic… he’ll crush you, just like he crushes any of us who dare to stand up to him,” another drone worried.

Jeremy smiled. “I haven’t used magic for the vast majority of my fights,” he informed them, smiling slightly. “I think I’ll be okay.”

That said, he once more began walking down the corridor, towards what he presumed was the King’s chamber. This seemed vaguely familiar, so he assumed he was going the right way.

As he did, he noticed more and more changelings filing into the corridors behind him, whispering excitedly. The corridor sloped downward, leading deeper into the underground until Jeremy was sure if he stomped his foot hard enough, he’d break through the ceiling to Tartarus. But the corridor continued sloping unrelentingly downward, and he continued moving unrelentingly forward.

It seemed some of the changelings were… directing him, Jeremy decided. Giving him a path to follow. Certain paths were blocked off by waiting changelings, leaving only one way forward, and as soon as he moved past they moved to join the rest of the swarm behind him. Shrugging internally, he allowed himself to be led, wondering if this was the way to the King’s throne room or just a trap. After all, hadn’t those changelings earlier said that they could be mind-controlled at a moment’s notice? Not that it particularly mattered. If he ended up being led down the wrong path, he could always just load his last save file and figure out the correct one.

Finally, to his relief, he came to a familiar, gigantic door. It was made of solid black stone, in contrast to the wrinkled, wispy black material of the cave, and emblazoned with a teal coat of arms featuring a green crown, markedly different from the one Chrysalis sported. Jeremy looked back at the massive crowd of changelings, who stared at him expectantly.

“Alright,” Jeremy muttered, pushing open the door and preparing himself. “Here we go…”

But, to his surprise, no attack came. The room appeared to be empty, save for a massive, shiny black and green rock in the center. Jeremy approached it, curious, and hurriedly backed away as it shifted, expanding outward before contracting back inward as a deep rumbling sound emitted from… somewhere. That’s the King, Jeremy realized, looking at the massive black-and-green lump. Walking around, he discovered that he’d been looking at the King’s gargantuan back, his face and hooves facing away from the door. A tiny crown encircled his horn, green octahedral fluorite gems set into the sides as Jeremy almost comically mistook it for some sort of ring. Jeremy briefly considered what he might do – it appeared the King was asleep, which gave him a chance for a surprise opening move. Hadn’t the changelings back in that other corridor said that the King controlled them with his crown? So, then, the logical solution was to remove the crown, preferably without waking the King up in the process.

Jeremy slowly, carefully walked over, placing a hand on the King’s back. It was hard, and glossy, but there were ridges in it that might provide suitable hand- and foot-holds should he decide to climb. He put more weight on his hand, and the King didn’t stir. He placed a foot onto a nearby ridge, placing nearly all his weight on it. The King shifted slightly, but still did not wake. Resolved, Jeremy began climbing.

It took several tries, and equally many panic attacks as the King shifted in his sleep, but Jeremy eventually managed to clamber to the top of the King’s head. The crown sat before him, the inset gems winking almost ominously, and he reached out a hand towards it. Slowly, gently, he lifted it off, wondering why there was no resistance or magical trap attached to it. Surely the King wasn’t this lazy? Then again, Jeremy did have some kind of strange immunity to certain magics. He jumped off, rolling as he hit the floor, and examined the crown, relieved to find that it was undamaged. That done, he moved back towards the door – he needed this thing out of the way, after all.

To his surprise, Chrysalis was waiting for him just beyond the door. Her double-irised green eyes had several bags under them, and she looked as though she’d been crying. Her teal hair hung limply from her head, and she had several bruises on her chitinous exoskeleton.

“What happened? Are you okay?” Jeremy whispered, looking her over in shock.

“I’m fine,” Chrysalis dismissed. “What are you doing?!” she hissed a moment later, looking at him in anger.

“I’m fixing things,” Jeremy answered, still whispering. “I’m going to talk to the King, try and make him reconsider.”

Chrysalis glared at him. “You think talking will work? On him?” she hissed furiously.

Jeremy raised an eyebrow. “Well, it worked on everyone else,” he pointed out. “Here, hold this.” He handed her the King’s crown, and Chrysalis stared at it in shock. That done, Jeremy turned to face the still-sleeping King, wondering how he might wake the massive changeling up.

“Hey!” Jeremy shouted directly into the King’s ear. “I’d like a word with you!”

One of the King’s massive eyes flew open, a bloodshot green compared to the blue of his brethren. He stared down at the diminutive human in front of him, and his other eye opened, narrowing in confusion. The King glanced back at the door, which was closed, perhaps wondering how the human had even arrived. Finally, he began making a rumbling noise. The entire cavern shook, and it took Jeremy a moment to realize the King was laughing at him.

“You? Would like a word with me? You are not worthy of my time, creature,” the changeling king chortled. He lazily reached out a hoof, and slammed it down onto the space Jeremy had been standing in a moment earlier.

“Yeah, I would!” Jeremy answered enthusiastically, peeking out from behind the hoof. “I’m here to discuss strategies that might help you and your subjects establish a better, healthier and more efficient relationship with each other, for the benefit of the Hive as a whole.”

The King laughed again. “And what if I don’t want a better relationship with my subjects?” he answered. “They’re my slaves. I couldn’t care less what they think!”

The King slammed down two more hooves, and Jeremy dove forward into the opening, tucking and rolling before standing up, mostly unharmed. He was already feeling a massive headache, but he had to keep going. To his surprise, changelings began to pour into the room, encircling him and the King in an odd sort of cage match.

“Kill the monkey,” the King hissed, noticing them.

Some changelings rushed forward, but they were held back by those who were at the front. “Hold fast, changelings! If we die today, we die the servants of our Queen!” one valiantly proclaimed.

The King glared over at it, and its bravado quickly wilted. “The Queen is my slave as well,” the King reminded the rest of the changelings. “Or have you forgotten that I control all of you?!” The King lit his horn, the emerald green lighting up the entire cave, and the changelings cringed away…

Only for nothing to happen.

The King concentrated harder, scrunching up his face as he tried to connect to the hive mind, but it seemed he was having problems. Finally, he stopped. “What… what have you done?” the King whispered, staring at the human.

Jeremy pointed at the top of his head, and the King felt his own horn.

“Where’s my crown… WHERE’S MY CROWN?!” the King roared, changelings scattering back as the giant flailed around in panic.

“So, are you ready to talk now?” Jeremy mildly inquired. The King stopped his frantic search of the space around him to slowly return his glare to the insolent human before him.

“You,” he growled. “I will crush you. I will crush every last changeling who dared stand with you, and I will retake my kingdom by FORCE!” the King howled, a demented grin coming to his face.

“Somehow, I don’t think that will solve your problems,” Jeremy pointed out. “After all, you’ve still got a failing relationship with your Queen, and openly admitted you hate your subjects. If they don’t rebel now, they’ll surely rebel sometime in the future. Maybe tomorrow, maybe a year from now… but your reign has ended as of today,” Jeremy finished. “It’s over, King. Accept it, and maybe you can still find a place in this world.”

The King spat at him. “You think I care about any of that? The only reason the Queen still exists is to gather love, for me, and serve my desires," the King growled, an evil grin coming to his face.

Jeremy stayed silent for a moment.

“What? Nothing to say to that? Good. Maybe you’re beginning to understand just how little I care about your stupid, useless definition of ‘better.’ The only time I will care about making anything better is when it’s better for me,” the King ranted.

Jeremy was still silent. He turned to the other changelings. “Why do you put up with him?” he asked, his voice ringing out across the cavern. “He does nothing for you! He actively makes your lives worse! If he’s so all-powerful from all the love he’s drained over the years, why don’t you just drain it back?”

The changelings fell silent, listening to his words. A single drone, which Jeremy recognized as one of the ones he had spoken to earlier, buzzed her wings, nearby drones turning to look at her. “You’re right… why… don’t we…?” she wondered aloud. She looked at the other changelings. They looked back, eyes narrowing. And it was decided.

To his credit, the King immediately realized what was happening, and backed away warily. “You – you cannot defeat me! I will destroy you!” he bellowed threateningly.

“You can’t take all of us!” the drone from earlier proclaimed, and they rushed forward, surging around Jeremy as they launched themselves at the King.

Jeremy watched in morbid fascination as the King became covered in more and more changelings, each draining as hard as they could.

“No! NO! YOU CAN’T DO THIS! I’M THE K-“ the former King bellowed, but was quickly buried beneath the ever-increasing pile of changelings, his form shrinking as the love was drained out of him.

Finally, the last of the changelings backed away, revealing a drone slightly smaller and thinner than the rest, who was hissing and lunging at any changeling that dared get near him. “This doesn’t mean anything!” he shrieked in a comically high-pitched voice. “This kingdom is still mine! You all still belong to me!” He was distracted from his rant as the door slammed open, the sound reverberating through the chamber as everyone fell silent. Jeremy turned to look at the new party.

Queen Chrysalis strode into the room, changelings bowing and scraping the floor as she passed by. Nightmare Moon, King Sombra, and Lord Tirek followed shortly afterward, making for an imposing flanking squadron. Finally, the four of them were surrounded by a small battalion of changeling guards, who saluted in formation and stood to the side as Chrysalis approached the former King and Jeremy.

“Drone 00087, formerly ‘Spiracle,’ formerly ‘King Cocoonus,’ I name you unfit for the position of King, and strip all titles and positions thereof,” Chrysalis began, her eyes and crown glowing with a green light as the many layers of her voice appeared to become more pronounced. It almost sounded like multiple different versions of her were speaking at once... “You have done irrecoverable damage to our queendom and our subjects, put your needs above the needs of the Hive too many times to count, and forced the Queen and her subjects to invade Canterlot, putting the irreplaceable Hive Queen in danger and our best food source at severe risk, for your own amusement,” she hissed. Cocoonus backed away, hitting the wall and emitting a squeak of surprise.

Queen Chrysalis paused, apparently considering what to say next. “Cocoonus the changeling, under ordinary circumstances we the Hive Queen would have you executed and banished from the hive mind for committing such grievous crimes. But… our latest incarnation pleads otherwise,” she announced to the shock of the crowd present. “Despite everything, despite every punishment you have inflicted on her, she believes… that you can change. That you can learn to be better. Just as we… just as I did,” Chrysalis finished, the glow fading from her eyes as she looked at Cocoonus sadly.

“W-what?” Cocoonus queried, sounding as though he couldn’t quite believe his ears.

Chrysalis stepped closer. “Will you accept my mercy?” she asked softly. “I can help you, Cocoonus. You can be more than an arrogant, abusive King marked as a footnote in the pages of history, if you’ll let me…”

Cocoonus backed away, shaking his head in disbelief. “But I… you… no!” he cried out. “If I can’t have my kingdom, then nobody else can!” With that, he lunged at her, only to be held in her magic as the Queen surveyed him in displeasure.

“Then leave,” she stated. “You are not welcome here.”

Her horn glowed for a moment, and Cocoonus’ body vanished in a bright green light, leaving Jeremy to stare at the spot where he had just been. Queen Chrysalis looked at the Hive, her expression one of utmost sorrow. “I, the Hive Queen, would like to issue… an apology,” she began. More stunned murmuring amongst the drones. “I played along with Cocoonus’ lust for power in an effort to make our lives better. It was a gamble, and I lost… and all of you paid for it.” She looked down at the ground. “And despite my wishes, I cannot change our biology. I cannot suggest you find a new Queen, for I am the only one who can bear the burden of the Hive. So, I will therefore suggest… that perhaps a new King is in order. And I will not be electing this new King. I won’t repeat my mistake. If we are to have a new King, I want him to be the King that you think is best for our queendom, not what I think is best. So… does any changeling have a suggestion?” Queen Chrysalis asked. There was a moment of deliberation, as changelings whispered to themselves.

And, in unison, every single hoof pointed at Jeremy.

“Wait… what?” he queried incredulously. “You want me to be your King?”

The drones closest to him nodded.

“But… why?” he asked. “I don’t know anything about being a King! I don’t know about finance, or government, or-“ he was stopped by a familiar drone making their way forward.

“You knew to protect our Queen,” she announced. “To save her, even from herself. You knew to protect us, and put us first. You know… you know how to love,” she trailed off.

There were general murmurs of agreement from around the throne room.

“But I…” Jeremy trailed off as Chrysalis faced him.

“Please?” she asked, eyes watering. “I have always… cared about you. Even if I didn’t make that clear before… you are very important to me. I… I love you,” she admitted, to gasps from around the chamber. Sombra was elbowing Tirek and smiling, while Tirek looked away, crossing his arms. Nightmare Moon simply looked shocked, her jaw dropping as she stared wide-eyed at the pair of them.

Jeremy blushed and looked away. “…Really?” he asked quietly.

Chrysalis nodded, and stepped forward, nuzzling into his chest. “Will you be my King? You don’t need to be smart, or good at government. We just… we just want someone who c-cares,” she broke down sobbing.

Jeremy looked around at the rest of the changelings, who stared back. He glanced over to Sombra, who gave a motion that suggested “Hug her back, you idiot!” Tirek merely shrugged, as if to say “Your call, kid.” Nightmare Moon didn’t respond. He turned back to Chrysalis, and embraced her in a hug. “If it makes you happy… I’ll give it a shot,” he answered. Chrysalis emitted a squeak, burying herself in his chest. The changelings around them began to cheer, and Jeremy held up a hand to cut them off. “On one condition!” he added, and Chrysalis looked up in shock. The changelings quickly quieted down. “I request that you only tolerate me if you genuinely feel that I am the best King for the job! I don’t want any of you to be hindered by the idea that you have to like me just because I saved you. I… I just don’t like the thought of being respected for past deeds instead of current ones. Okay?” Jeremy asked.

The changelings stayed silent for a moment more, then cheered with such force that Jeremy felt the cavern shake. He blushed and grinned, and Chrysalis nuzzled his neck.

“I don’t think we’ll ever need to worry about that… but if it makes you happy, we’ll remember it,” she answered, Relieved, Jeremy hugged her closer, and smiled softly.

What seemed like several sunlit days later, the two of them broke apart, looking at each other with a newfound light in their eyes. “So, uh… would you like to follow me for a moment?” Chrysalis asked.

“Oh… okay,” Jeremy answered, surprised. She led him away from the crowds, who were already busying themselves with tidying up the throne room after the fight, and away from the rest of his friends, who watched the pair of them go with confused expressions.

She walked through the randomly opening and closing holes with the air of one who’d had plenty of practice, Jeremy following along curiously as he stared at the mare he’d just affirmed to be his lover. Now that he’d actually said it, he realized it was true. He loved her. At first, it was just because she needed love to survive. But now… he loved her sense of humor. Her smile, razor-sharp as it was. The way she looked at him when he complimented her, as though she’d never heard a real compliment before. The way she fought, and the way she cried. Jeremy loved every single part of her, and it had taken a confession in front of thousands of changelings for him to realize it. His necklace glowed slightly, and Chrysalis looked back, surprised.

“Oh! Sorry, just… thinking,” Jeremy answered her unspoken question, startled out of his train of thought.

She smiled, looking back to where they were going, and Jeremy thought he caught a faint blush on her cheeks.

Finally, they came across a cavern Jeremy recognized – it was the same one that he had stumbled into just after waking up.

“So… I just… I wanted you to know, that if you want to be a king, you have to be connected to the hive mind,” Chrysalis informed him, shuddering slightly. “It’s not a pleasant experience. We haven’t had many kings who weren’t changelings before… well, we haven’t had many kings at all. The Hive was always meant to be ruled by the Queen,” she explained. Jeremy nodded. “So, when the first King was anointed to our hive, he cast an enchantment on this crown, to connect any who wear it to the hive mind, so that they may truly be attuned to their subjects. But… Most autonomous beings can't handle being a part of a hive mind, I don't know why. They... they go insane from the process. So… I… I don’t know what to do, Jeremy…” Chrysalis admitted fearfully. “What if you go insane? I can’t…” she pleaded. Jeremy sighed, making a decision in his mind.

“What if I told you… it didn’t matter?” he carefully replied.

“It does matter! You don’t have to do this for me, you can say no, you-“ Chrysalis began, but Jeremy held a finger up, smiling.

“Have you ever wondered… just how I was able to do all of this? To fight all of you, without any magic, or any weapons?” he asked.

Chrysalis slowly nodded. “Are you… some kind of angel?” she asked.

Jeremy shook his head, smiling. “I’m not an angel. I’m just a human. But… I do have one special ability. When I landed in Tartarus, the world… changed me. It gave me the ability to turn any fight scene into… well, into a strange sort of game. There’s a heart, and a bunch of bullets, and… I’m not explaining this well, am I,” Jeremy sighed, looking at her face. “The point is, during the ‘game,’ I can save my progress whenever I choose. Then, if I die, I’ll just go back in time to the last point I ‘saved’ at, and… try again,” Jeremy finished.

Chrysalis thought about this. “That… makes sense, in a weird sort of way. Every time I tried to attack you, you knew where my attacks were… Even though you couldn’t see. So, if you put this on, and go crazy, you can just… travel back in time and not put it on?” she wondered.

Jeremy nodded. “If I don’t have the mental strength to load the save properly… just kill me, that will do it automatically,” he clarified.

Chrysalis swallowed nervously and nodded.

Jeremy took the crown from her grasp, holding it over his head.

“Ready?” Chrysalis asked.

Jeremy breathed shakily. “…Hold me?” he asked.

Chrysalis immediately hugged him tightly. “It’s okay. I’m right here. You’ll be okay,” she mumbled into his sweater.

Jeremy scrunched his eyes shut, and dropped the crown on his head.

Instantly, the world faded out, all his senses shutting down. He was trapped inside his own head, unable to see, feel, hear, smell, or do anything. Immediately he started panicking, and the murmur of background noise inside his head became a roar, drowning out his inner voice as he began to lose himself to the irrational panic. He knew, without being told, that it had gone horribly wrong - that his own fears were actually killing him, and yet he could do nothing to stop it. Outside, he could just barely feel Chrysalis, frantically crying his name as she attempted to break through the turmoil in a futile effort to stop the process. Amidst everything, despite how afraid he was, despite his inability to even think at the moment, Jeremy felt something from her. It was less of a conscious thought and more of a primordial emotion, buried beneath layers of subconscious. It was love, raw and pure and true, and it glowed around him brighter and brighter as his senses returned to him. As he returned to the conscious world, he became aware that both his heart necklace and his crown were glowing, the green gems slowly turning pink as they shone their lights on the cavern wall. The background noise in his head faded away once more, until he found it silent – he had somehow managed to stop thinking unconsciously, to quell his own runaway fears and panic that had nearly killed him with sheer mental force. It was strange, and scary… but he was alive. More than that, he was still sane.

“J… Jeremy?” Chrysalis asked, looking up at him in a teary-eyed mixture of wonder and horror.

“Hey…” Jeremy weakly answered, putting a hand on her head. “I knew I’d be fine.”

She launched herself at him, hugging him tightly and sobbing into his arms as he enthusiastically returned her hug.

So… can I hear everyone’s thoughts now? I don’t hear anything… he tried projecting his thought.

Only the ones you consciously project, my King, a drone spoke up, startling him, and instantly there was a chorus of hundreds of voices agreeing.

Oh… thank you… Jeremy reflexively answered. It was like talking to them – he didn’t have to worry about any unbidden thought rising to the top of his mind, because there weren’t any. Strangely, he felt something from the drone’s end, some vague feeling of… embarrassment. It took him a moment to realize that he was feeling their emotions, and not his own. Are you okay? he asked curiously, trying to project his concerned feelings towards them.

I… sorry, my King. I am not… the old King never thanked us… the drone falteringly answered.

Well, he should have, Jeremy thought back. The drone remained silent, their feeling of embarrassment growing stronger, and Jeremy smiled slightly.

He got to his feet unsteadily, Chrysalis supporting him as best she could.

“Okay… wow, I am lightheaded. I'm going to save my progress, just so I don't have to do that again,” Jeremy chuckled. He pulled out the SAVE menu and pressed the button to SAVE, and Chrysalis emitted a shocked gasp.

“What was that?!” she queried.

“Huh?” Jeremy asked.

“That.. I don't know how to describe it, but I've felt that before! When we were in Tartarus, I thought it was just you using magic or something!”

Jeremy raised an eyebrow. “I just SAVED, like I said. Can you… can you see the menu I open?” he asked, pulling it out again and gesturing to it.

Chrysalis looked hard, but shook her head. “No… but I definitely felt something. So… that’s… that’s real, huh? You can really…?” she wondered.

Jeremy nodded. “I really can,” he affirmed.

Chrysalis swallowed audibly. “So… how many…” she trailed off.

“How many what?” Jeremy asked, as they walked along.

“How many times have I… killed you?” she asked.

Jeremy paused a moment to think. “Uh… you didn't kill me at any point that I remember. Got lucky, honestly."

Chrysalis' eyes watered as her head drooped. “Still... I… I nearly killed you…” she murmured.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay! I understand why you wanted to, and we’re past that!” Jeremy hurriedly reassured her.

Chrysalis scrunched up her face. “It’s not okay! You… you were just trying to help, and I tried to murder you for it! I’m a terrible changeling!” she cried out, sobbing.

Jeremy sighed, and stopped walking, pulling her close for another hug. “Even if you were a bad changeling, which you’re really not, that was in the past. Who you are now is whoever you want to be. And if you want to be a good changeling… well, I say you’re already there.”

Chrysalis remained silent.

“It doesn’t matter to me how many times I die. What matters to me is how happy you are, now that you and I are alive and out of Tartarus.”

Chrysalis still seemed unconvinced.

Jeremy cupped her cheek with one hand, forcing her to look at him. “Please don’t be sad. I love you, don’t be sad,” he whispered.

A fresh set of tear tracks made their way down her face, and without any warning, Chrysalis lunged forward and kissed him, pinning him to the ground as she frantically and passionately slipped her tongue into his mouth. Jeremy wriggled and squirmed for a moment, then gave into the kiss, their tongues dancing around each other as Chrysalis clumsily tried to lick his teeth. Finally, she pulled away, the two of them gasping for breath.

“Sorry… I haven’t had much practice kissing…” Chrysalis admitted, ears splaying back.

“Neither have I,” Jeremy laughed. “It was… intense.” He looked at Chrysalis after a moment.

“Wanna do it again?”

A few hours later, the two of them returned to the main atrium, where Nightmare Moon, King Sombra, and Lord Tirek were waiting amidst a flurry of drones, still tidying the chamber to a spotless polish. Jeremy noted to some surprise that a ‘carpet’ of green, hard and glossy substance was now present, leading up to a new throne that had been placed in the center of the room. Changeling guards stationed along the ‘carpet’ saluted as they passed by, and a team of drones were carrying in a large, framed mural of some sort, made with varying shades of green.

“Wow. That was… a quick redecoration,” Jeremy noted.

Chrysalis giggled uncomfortably. “Yeah… I told them to make the place look nicer while we were out…”

Sombra was the first to chime in, looking up at Jeremy with a raised eyebrow. “What were you two even doing? You’ve been gone for hours, we were getting bored in here!” the shadow king complained.

“Sorry, Sombra,” Jeremy apologized, a guilty grin on his face.

“So, you’ve got a crown, I see,” Tirek noted.

Jeremy nodded. “And I’m now connected to the changeling hive mind… which is still a very weird thought.”

Nightmare Moon perked up at this, startling both Tirek and Sombra as her head whipped around to glare at Chrysalis. “Thou connected an autonomous being to a hive mind?!” she angrily shouted. “That is highly irresponsible! Thou couldst have gotten him killed, he couldst have gone insane, we couldst have lost him! Hath thee no shame?!” she demanded, getting up in Chrysalis’ face.

Changelings hissed and stepped forward from around the throne room, ready to defend their Queen, but Jeremy raised a hand and they stopped as suddenly as though they had hit a wall.

Chrysalis reeled back for a moment, then leaned forward again, refusing to be cowed by Nightmare Moon’s sudden aggression. “I knew it would be fine – that he would be fine! Because… er…” she trailed off, looking at Jeremy.

Please don’t, he mentally messaged her over the hive mind.

“Because… he’s… Jeremy,” Chrysalis lamely finished.

Nightmare Moon growled. “Thou wert lucky, impudent changeling, admit it! His life is not thine to toy with!”

Jeremy decided to step in. “Hey,” he addressed Nightmare Moon. “I know you’re scared of losing me. But I’m fine, and Chrysalis learned her lesson.”

Nightmare Moon shifted her angry gaze over to him, before dropping it to the floor and sighing. “We… we apologize. Thou art correct, there is naught to be angry for. Art we… art we still friends?” she asked, looking at him hopefully.

Jeremy smiled and laughed. “Of course we are,” he answered jovially, throwing an arm around Nightmare Moon’s neck and hugging her.

She smiled back, a relieved expression passing across her face in a fleeting instant before being suppressed. “So… thou art a King now? T’was rather a hasty ascension, if we do say so,” she ribbed.

Jeremy laughed appreciatively. “Unanimous election tends to do that,” he retorted, and the changelings still in the throne room snorted in amusement.

He walked over to his new throne, appraising it. It was as tall as he was standing, and carved of a dark black stone – more Hesperite, Jeremy presumed. Surprisingly, it was padded in what appeared to be green velvet, and he ran a finger over the carved stone appraisingly.

“Are you just going to admire the throne, or actually sit in it?” Sombra quipped.

“Oh, you know me, I just love admiring furniture. Throne-Admirer Extraordinaire, that’s me,” Jeremy retorted, causing Sombra and Chrysalis to snicker. He slowly took a seat on the throne, turning to face the rest of the room as he looked around appraisingly. “Alright… this is nice,” he commented. Chrysalis flew over to sit beside him, as the throne was easily large enough to accommodate the both of them, and he smiled as she leaned into him happily. “Well, I guess I better start doing kingly things. Uh… Homework is now illegal,” Jeremy joked. Sombra burst out laughing, and Tirek hid a smile behind his massive hands. Even Nightmare Moon smirked.

Jeremy looked around, while the laughter quieted down. He nudged Chrysalis, causing her to look up at him curiously.

“What are those?” he asked, pointing at the newly installed series of green murals that lined one side of the chamber.

Chrysalis smiled. “Those are our history,” she explained. “It all started, way back when, in a cave just a short distance from here…”

Jeremy listened intently as Chrysalis told the story of the changelings, everyone in the cavern stopping to listen as well. The changelings had evidently heard all this before, as they nodded at all the right points.

“…And, then… I got captured and sent to Tartarus,” Chrysalis finished, looking down.

Jeremy put a comforting arm around her again, rubbing her side. “And then, I came along,” he added, smiling at her. Chrysalis hesitated for a moment, then smiled back.

“So, uh… anyone else want to tell their stories?” Jeremy asked. Nightmare Moon looked away, while Sombra took on a hesitant expression and Tirek stubbornly shook his head. Jeremy rolled his eyes. “Okay, I’ll tell mine first, how about that?” he offered, and they perked up.

“But didst thee not lose thine memory?” Nightmare Moon pointed out.

Jeremy shrugged. “When I woke up earlier… I remembered everything. It was a little strange, but… I can finally remember my past life.”

Sombra leaned forward in interest. “Okay, so what was your life like?” he asked. Jeremy smiled, and began to tell his story.

“…And that brings us to now,” he finished.

Nightmare Moon looked at him in fascination. “Thou art an alien… from another planet? Verily, that is fascinating!” she gushed, looking over him in a new light.

Jeremy blushed, and looked away. “It’s not that interesting,” he muttered.

“What did you and your friend bond over?” Tirek asked.

Jeremy raised an eyebrow. “What?” he asked.

“You said that when you first met your best friend Sam, you two bonded over something very important. What was it?” Tirek asked.

Jeremy tugged at his sweater uncomfortably – he and Sam had bonded over the Friendship is Magic show… but was he allowed to say that? Would whatever gods existed on this world strike him down for revealing that it was, ultimately, nothing more than a children’s tale?

“Uh…” he trailed off. “Nothing important, you know. A TV show, some games we played together, you know how it is,” he tried, laughing uncertainly.

Tirek crossed his arms. “…You’re hiding something from us,” he observed.

Sombra looked shrewdly at him. “Why hide something like that? Unless you two bonded over your conquests of local mares, or something,” he wondered.

Jeremy snickered at that absolutely ludicrous thought. “W-what? No, we didn’t bond over anything like that-“ he stopped, realizing that he was about to give away the secret. Tirek was looking at him expectantly, and Jeremy sighed. “Okay, I’ll tell you. But first… Could everyone else please leave?” he asked, addressing the other changelings in the room. “This is supposed to be private.” Immediately, they fled the room, one changeling stopping a moment to pick up an errant scrub brush before hurriedly rejoining the others.

“Okay, now can you tell us?” Tirek pressed.

Jeremy sighed, turning to Chrysalis. “Can you… do something to make sure my thoughts aren’t overheard as well?” he asked.

Chrysalis splayed her ears back. “Don’t you… trust us?” she asked quietly.

Jeremy immediately looked guilty. “I do! It’s just… this information might really mess with their heads, and I don’t want them going through that kind of suffering,” he answered worriedly.

Chrysalis gazed into his eyes a moment longer, and made her choice. Her crown lit up green, and she sighed. “Okay, it’s done. Nobody but us five can hear anything we say.”

Jeremy nodded, turning back to the rest. “Okay… I’m ready.”

“Your world is a story. It’s called “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,” and it’s about the adventures of a mare named Twilight Sparkle and her friends, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack, and how they became the defenders of Equestria. Later in the story, Starlight Glimmer joins the party, and the seven of them are mentored and watched over by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna as they defeat some of Equestria’s worst threats in history. First Nightmare Moon, then Discord, then Queen Chrysalis, then King Sombra, Lord Tirek, Starlight Glimmer herself, and lastly Chrysalis again. I haven’t seen any of the show past that, because it wasn’t released yet,” Jeremy recounted.

Chrysalis looked at him strangely. “So… how much… do you know about us?” she asked hesitantly.

Jeremy looked away. “Too much. I didn’t want to say any of this, because now that I think about it, it’s really creepy how much I know about the four of you. And let’s not even get started on the fact that we’re currently technically fictional characters, because that raises so many philosophical questions that I don’t know where to start,” Jeremy finished.

Tirek appeared deep in thought, while Nightmare Moon looked horrified.

“Our entire stories art known to thy world?” she clarified.

Jeremy nodded. “Every dramatic scene, at least. The intricacies get rather lost on a show meant for children.”

Sombra snorted. “So, every time Sparkle won, every time she pulled a victory out of her flank at the last possible moment… was for the sake of drama. Of course it was!” he shouted furiously, stomping a hoof on the ground. “Goddesses forbid we be portrayed as anything but evil, one-dimensional villains with no conscience, after all!”

Jeremy chuckled halfheartedly. “Yeah… this is why I didn’t want the changelings to know,” he explained to Chrysalis. “I can only imagine what they might think, being portrayed as little more than cannon fodder to your climactic final battle.”

Chrysalis nodded, smiling slightly. “Well… I suppose that’s valid reasoning,” she admitted. “Still, do you think you were ever on the show? Now that you’ve met all of us?”

Jeremy shook his head. “Probably not. It’s really rare that an episode doesn’t focus on Twilight or one of her friends, and she was nowhere near us until the very end. Maybe I made a very short appearance, as did the rest of you, but I don’t think they saw anything before that.”

Sombra snorted angrily. “So not only do we only get written in if Sparkle’s around, nobody even gets to see our redemptions? What was the point, then?” he wondered furiously.

Jeremy looked sharply over at him. “It doesn’t matter if you’re redeemed to some faceless viewers a world away. What matters is that we know that you’re redeemed. And, if we’re careful enough about it, we might even get to show how much better you’ve gotten on camera too,” Jeremy posited.

Tirek grumbled something under his breath. “So, there is no winning against Twilight Sparkle. She’s invincible because she’s the protagonist,” he noted.

“Yep,” Jeremy responded glumly.

Tirek sighed. “Of course,” he muttered.

“So… who was the best villain? The most liked… or the most hated, I suppose,” Sombra wondered.

Jeremy grinned. “Unfortunately, it was Discord. By a landslide. I think he might just be the most popular villain in modern television,” Jeremy wondered.

There was a poof of pink smoke, and the draconequus himself appeared on the scene, posed dramatically. “Oh, my! What a gracious nomination! I’ll be happy to accept, thank you,” the lord of chaos answered, holding up a golden trophy with “#1 Best Villain” inscribed into the side of it.

Jeremy doubled over snickering. “You’re definitely worthy of it, Discord,” he replied, getting over his initial shock.

Discord swooned, falling over onto a fainting couch that looked suspiciously like one of Rarity’s. “My goodness! Of the five options you had to pick, must you always pick [FLIRT]?”

That shut Jeremy up, as he stared at the lord of Chaos, mouth agape. “How… wha…” he stammered.

Discord reached out an impossibly long arm, gently closing his mouth for him before the arm zoomed backward into his body until it reached normal size. “You really didn’t think I was aware of what was going on?” Discord chuckled. “I’m Discord! Tartarus is one of my favorite places to roam!” Confetti and smoke blasted through the air, and the lord of chaos did a loop-de-loop for effect.

“So… is there any other reason you’re here?” Tirek wondered grumpily.

Discord abruptly stopped celebrating, the smoke vanishing and the confetti falling to the floor far faster than it should have. “Oh, right. I forgot you were mixed up in this whole thing as well,” Discord grumbled, glaring at him.

Tirek clenched his hands into fists, and Jeremy put a quelling hand on Tirek’s shoulder.

“Hey. There’s no need to fight,” Jeremy reminded him.

Tirek grumbled, but said nothing, and after a moment unclenched his fists. “Discord… I am sorry I betrayed you. I did so because I assumed you would betray me first, which seemed like a perfectly logical thing to assume at the time, and… and…” Tirek trailed off.

“I’m the Lord of Chaos! Rationality isn’t exactly my strong suit! I… I would have stayed…” Discord trailed off as well, looking away.

There was a moment of awkward silence. “…So, you knew what was going on in Tartarus?” Tirek asked quietly.

Discord remained silent. “…I did,” he admitted after a moment. “I didn’t do anything because…”

Tirek held up a hand. “Right, right. I… I understand.”

Another moment of awkward silence, as Sombra coughed from off to the side.

“Shouldn’t… um… shouldn’t you be unable to use magic here? Because of all the Hesperite?” Chrysalis spoke up.

Discord glared over at her. “No trick works twice on a being of Chaos,” he answered sternly. “Oh, and that reminds me…” he teleported away, reappearing an inch from Chrysalis’ face.

“If you ever hurt my little Fluttershy again, I will make Tartarus look like a stroll in the park compared to the tortures I’ll have in store for you,” he growled.

Chrysalis shrunk back in fear. “Right! Yes! I won’t do it again!” she squeaked, as Jeremy glared at Discord.

Discord leered at her, not even bothering to acknowledge Jeremy. “Good!” he announced, returning to his usual flamboyant self. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll just be…” he trailed off, lost in thought.

“…Going?” Nightmare Moon prompted after a moment.

“Hold on, hold on. There was a reason I came. Now, what was it…” Discord muttered, pulling out various objects from nowhere and tossing them behind him. “Ah! Here it is!” the draconequus announced brightly, pulling out a scroll stamped with a wax seal in the shape of the sun. He plucked the seal off easily, tossing it in his mouth and chewing on it as he unraveled the scroll. “Mm, raspberry, Celestia knows that’s my favorite. Anyway, you’ve been summoned to appear before Her Royal Majesty, Princess Celestia, blah blah blah friendship, blah blah blah human, et cetera, et cetera,” Discord finished, rolling up the scroll and burning it with a snap of his paw. “Any questions?”

Jeremy raised his hand. “Yeah… what?” he inquired, and Discord snorted.

“Celestia wants you to add to her growing human collection, so she’s coming over here to see if you’re a good enough quality human. Oh, and to check out all these ‘villains,’ because she’s worried about them all being in the same place. Ah, and she’s bringing Miss High-and-Mighty Princess Goddess Main-Character Overpowered Alicorn OC (do not steal) Sparkle,” Discord finished.

“Okay, but why? I don’t seriously believe Celestia has a ‘human collection,’” Jeremy pointed out.

“Believe it!” Discord answered, doing a pose reminiscent of a certain anime. “She’s got six so far, and she just needs one more human soul to break the… er, never mind, that’s already broken. She’ll be coming over here in a week, so… ta, ta!” Discord finished, disappearing in a puff of smoke.

The five of them coughed for a moment, and as Tirek and Jeremy looked worriedly at one another, Jeremy’s stomach suddenly decided to remind him that he hadn’t eaten anything for quite a while.

“Oh… right. Uh…” Jeremy trailed off.

“Don’t worry, I can get you some food. We stored quite a lot back when… we had to feed ponies,” Chrysalis explained, getting up off of his lap. Jeremy nodded sadly as he realized the implications of that.

Chrysalis led them through another series of randomly opening portals, heading farther to the right of the hive than Jeremy had ever gone before. Finally, one last portal opened in front of her, and Jeremy beheld the sight of what appeared to be hundreds of pounds of fruit and vegetables, unspoiled and clean despite clearly having been kept for quite a while.

“They’re under a preservation spell as long as they’re in this cavern,” Chrysalis explained.

“That’s a lot of food…” Jeremy noted, salivating.

“We didn’t know how much ponies needed, so… we just gave them as much food as they asked for,” Chrysalis replied.

A few minutes later, four of them were happily munching on various fruits and vegetables. Jeremy went for a pile of pears with enthusiasm, while Nightmare Moon seemed to prefer apples. Sombra, after looking around for a long while, shrugged and tried the apples as well, while Tirek simply grabbed a handful of carrots and stuffed them into his mouth.

“Manners, Tirek,” Nightmare Moon chided.

“I haven’t eaten since I was imprisoned, and unlike you, I’m actually mortal,” Tirek shot back, stuffing an entire head of cabbage into his mouth before swallowing mightily.

“You’re mortal?” Sombra queried incredulously. “You’ve been down there for longer than the rest of us put together!”

Tirek sighed. “I extended my life with some… spells,” he answered.

Chrysalis, who had been laying her head on Jeremy’s lap as he ate, looked up. “Are these the same spells that allow you to steal magic?” she dryly commented.

Tirek looked away. “…Maybe,” he muttered. Chrysalis hummed, but said nothing more, going back to resting on Jeremy’s lap.

“So, now that Discord’s gone, would anyone else like to tell their story?” Jeremy asked, once the four of them had finished eating.

Tirek sighed. “I suppose I can tell you some things. Don’t expect any drama,” he warned.

Jeremy chuckled in amusement, leaning back against the wall as a tale of two brothers, Prince Tirek and Prince Scorpan, was told.

“So… you haven’t seen your brother for a thousand years? That’s… that’s so sad…” murmured Jeremy.

Tirek lowered his eyes. “He is surely dead. We are mortal creatures, and Sendak the Elder and I are likely the last of our kind by now, if only because we cheated fate.”

Nightmare Moon sighed. “I know what it is like to lose a sibling to a thousand years of banishment. But… at least Celestia was still alive when I came back…” she trailed off quietly. Sombra remained silent.

“What was Scorpan like?” Jeremy asked, after a moment.

“He was… well, he was a lot like you,” Tirek answered, gazing off into the distance. “He was always trying to learn some thing or another, though he wasn’t as interested as I was in dark magic. He was very quiet, and very kind. Everyone loved him… whereas I was known as the gruff, rowdy older brother to Prince Scorpan.” Tirek sighed. “I suppose that’s why I chose to follow you. Maybe this time, it will be different,” Tirek whispered to himself.

Jeremy put a comforting hand on Tirek’s shoulder. “It will be,” he promised. “I’ll make sure you never go through that again.”

Tirek cracked a smile at some unknown joke, and Jeremy returned to his spot by the cavern wall.

“Anyone else?” Tirek prompted.

“I’ll go,” Sombra muttered. Jeremy already knew this story, so he elected to zone out for the most part, responding with an occasional “oh, yeah” or “wow, really?” as Sombra told the tale of his dismal childhood. Nightmare Moon, meanwhile, was staring at Sombra with utmost sorrow, tears threatening to spill from her eyes every time Sombra mentioned his father smacking him with an iron hammer.

“Why didst thee not run? Surely somepony else wouldst have taken thee in,” she asked the shadow king.

Sombra sighed. “He was too well-known. The son of an upper noble in Princess Amor’s court? I’d be found and returned instantly, and it would create a scandal for my father, and he would punish me all the more severely. So, I learned to keep my mouth shut.”

Jeremy looked at him sympathetically. “Well… at least you won’t have to deal with him again,” he tried, unsure of what else to say.

Sombra sighed again. “Yep. One of the perks of being a thousand years old, I guess.”

Jeremy raised an eyebrow, smiling. “Speaking of which, what is with all of you and being around exactly a thousand years ago? Was that just the greatest villain party of all time, or what?”

Sombra, taken by surprise, snorted with laughter. “It was certainly a climactic time in Equestrian history. The country was barely established, weak, and prone to invasion – we four are the few who managed to get captured.”

Chrysalis scoffed. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I am certainly not a thousand years old. I barely celebrated my twentieth birthday a few moons ago,” she informed the lot of them.

“To be fair, I’m only a thousand years old because I put the entire Crystal Kingdom and myself into magical stasis. I’m actually around thirty, not counting those years,” Sombra spoke up.

Jeremy looked at him in surprise. “Wow. You, uh… wow. That’s really strange to hear,” Jeremy pondered.

Sombra rolled his eyes. “Yes, I know, I look and sound like I'm at least fifty. I get that a lot."

The five of them chuckled, and Jeremy looked over at Nightmare Moon. “You’re the last one. Anything you want to share?” he invited.

Nightmare Moon blushed, and looked away. “Honestly, most of our story hath been written into the tale of the Mare in the Moon, which... we assume all of thou art aware of by now. There is naught much more to add, but that we were envious of our sister and attempted to banish her in order to take Equestria for our own self. Failing that, we were banished to the Moon for a thousand years, escaped, tried again, failed… and this time, the part of us that survived the wrath of the Elements of Harmony imprisoned the part that didst not. It is… a most curious separation, we admit,” Nightmare Moon noted.

“So… what’s the difference between Princess Luna and you?” Chrysalis asked.

“We are linked by a strange magical bond. Whatever she hates most about herself, becomes incorporated into mine self. For example, we didst not always speak like this. But, it seems that Princess Luna hath grown to hate her old method of speaking, and…” Nightmare Moon trailed off.

“Maybe there’s some way to fix that?” Jeremy mused.

Nightmare Moon sighed. “Perhaps. We art not hopeful.”

With nothing else to say, the five of them agreed to go to bed, and Chrysalis led Jeremy to a new room, towards the top of the Hive. It was small, and homely, decked out with a well-made green bed and a simple nightstand, a magical lamp providing some illumination to the small, hollowed-out cavern.

“This is my room,” Chrysalis introduced, looking around in satisfaction as she took off her crown, placing it on the nightstand. “Though… I haven’t spent time here in a long while.”

Jeremy followed suit, placing his much larger crown around hers in a neat concentric fashion as he looked around appreciatively. “I like it,” he commented, smiling. “Very cozy.”

Chrysalis smiled at him. “Would you like to rest with me?” she asked. “I mean, because normally lovers rest together, and if you’re comfortable with that, then I would want to try – whoa!” she cut off as Jeremy picked her up, dumping her on the bed.

“I would love to rest with you,” he answered, stripping his sweater and pants off.

“Oh! I, um, I-“ Chrysalis noticed, cringing away from his newly less-clothed form as Jeremy looked over in concern.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I meant… you know, actually sleeping…” she mumbled.

“Yeah? So did I,” Jeremy answered, confused.

“Oh… I thought… never mind,” Chrysalis trailed off, embarrassed.

“I can’t wear all my clothes in a bed, I’d get way too hot if I tried,” Jeremy explained.

“That makes sense… um… you know what I was… referring to, right?” Chrysalis tried.

“Yeah, why?” Jeremy answered, sitting on the bed next to her.

“I just… just so you know… I don’t think I’m comfortable with it yet. After he… I-I…” Chrysalis stuttered, and Jeremy hugged her closely.

“Don’t worry about it,” he soothed, stroking her hair. “I would never, ever do anything without your permission. I’ll wait until you’re ready, and not a moment sooner,” he whispered.

Chrysalis nuzzled into his t-shirt, smiling slightly. “…Thank you,” she whispered back.

They buried themselves under the thick covers, Chrysalis rolling over to hug Jeremy after a moment. He stiffened in surprise, but quickly hugged her back, comforted by a full stomach, the warmth of his lover next to him, and the knowledge that he was not alone in this world.

Chapter 5

As Jeremy came to, he gradually became aware that someone was crying over him, wiping his bare torso with a washcloth.

“It’ll be okay… you’ll pull through…” they sobbed.

All Jeremy could do was groan in pain, the washcloth doing little to alleviate matters.

“My King? My King!” they exclaimed.

“Ow…” Jeremy moaned.

“Oh, I’m sorry!” the drone repeated in a hushed whisper.

Jeremy cracked open his eyes to get a look at them.

She was a nursery drone, from the looks of things. Her compound blue eyes blinked down at him sorrowfully, and Jeremy realized he was laying in the exact same bed he’d woken up in the first time. The room was lit now, a single green pustule looking as though it had been hastily stuck to the ceiling. It seemed like a lifetime ago that he’d last been in this room…

“No, it’s okay…” he managed to get out, his voice raspy and dry.

He tried to sit up, but the drone pushed him down again with a hoof. “You must rest, Your Majesty,” she insisted.

“How long have I been out?” Jeremy asked, already knowing the answer.

“Just an hour, my King. We applied a special medical paste to your body so it could heal more quickly, but you still need rest,” the drone explained.

“Where are Chrysalis and the others?” Jeremy continued, obediently laying down again as the nurse replaced the sheets covering his body.

“Our Queen is busy dealing with the guests. She was… very harsh with them, at first, and is still refusing to let them inside the Hive. The other three exited the throne room some time ago, and are currently with the Queen.”

At this, Jeremy’s heart jump-started, and he bolted upright. “Are they okay?!” he urgently queried.

The nurse dropped her washcloth in surprise. “They’re okay! They fought the guests, showed mercy, and now they’re talking! Please don’t hurt me…” the nurse whimpered, bowing low and quivering in fear.

Jeremy immediately fell back. “I… I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to yell. I just… I was just worried about their safety. I’m not angry at you,” Jeremy whispered. This hadn't happened the first time... What had changed?

The nurse looked up hopefully. “Are you… are you sure, my King? If I have done something wrong…” she began, but Jeremy firmly shook his head.

“You have done nothing wrong,” he insisted. “And… thank you, for taking care of me,” he added after a moment.

The nurse immediately bowed low again, smiling in relief. “It was nothing, Your Majesty. I was more than happy to help,” she denied.

Jeremy chuckled, the pain in his chest lessening as he scooped her up into a surprise hug, causing her to emit a yelp of surprise. “It wasn’t nothing to me,” he whispered. The drone stiffened in surprise, then nuzzled into his neck, a dreamy smile coming to her face. “What’s your name, anyway?” Jeremy asked after a moment.

The drone sighed, and looked away. “I… I don’t have one. Queen Chrysalis told you about how our reincarnations work, right?” she asked.

Jeremy nodded thoughtfully. “More or less. Basically, your souls are contained within the hive mind, so when one of you dies you just get reborn into a new body?” he recalled, and the drone nodded.

“There are so many of us, the Queen cannot name us all. Those of us who have accomplished things for the Hive get a name, but the rest of us… do not,” she explained, looking down at the ground.

Jeremy was silent for a moment. “Would you like a name?” he asked.

She looked up with enough hope in her expression to cause ten heart attacks in any lesser human, and Jeremy just barely withstood the urge to start snuggling her right then and there. “Please?” she whispered.

“Okay… your name is…” Jeremy thought for a moment, recalling the last time she’d asked. She was a nurse, and changelings seemed to like insect names... “How about Hemolymph?” he suggested.

The drone considered the name thoughtfully. “Hemolymph… I like it!” she answered brightly, beaming up at him.

Jeremy smiled back, colors dancing in his eyes as he fell back onto the pillow, realizing that he was still, in fact, in immense pain. “Glad… you… do…” he got out, and the drone hastily returned to reapplying the washcloth.

“Sorry! Forgot you were… um… injured…” she squeaked.

Jeremy forced out a chuckle. “It’s okay,” he repeated. “Uh… have you seen my necklace?”

Hemolymph looked at him strangely. “It’s just outside this hollow, along with your other personal items. My King… I mean no offense, but why are you wanting your finery at a time like this?”

Jeremy stifled a giggle. “It has healing powers,” he explained.

“Oh!” Hemolymph brightened in understanding. “I’ll go get it for you, right away.”

She exited the small cave, and Jeremy flopped back onto the bed. He pulled out his menu and SAVED quickly, cursing inwardly at himself for not doing so the first time he fought Luna. Typically he remembered to SAVE his progress much more often than this. Now, he just had to get ready for the next bit. Jeremy devoted his energy for the next few minutes to working his muscles, making sure each was stretched and ready to move before moving on to the next. From his position, this was quite time-consuming, and he had just finished working out the ache in his legs when Hemolymph returned to the room.

“Here it is!” she announced, holding out the heart-shaped gray necklace, and Jeremy eagerly took it, slipping it on. It immediately flickered pink, winking out once or twice before returning to its normal, steady glow. Jeremy promptly put on what he thought looked like a contented smile – it wasn’t that hard to fake, as the necklace really did make him feel better. Not entirely healed, though, which is what he needed to convince Hemolymph of.

“Ah, that’s much better. I feel healed already,” he remarked in satisfaction, making to get out of his bed.

“Ah, are you sure, my King? I mean, that was rather fast, and magical artifacts normally don’t really work all that well around here-“ she was cut off by him patting her on the head.

“I know, I know. Trust me, I’m better now,” he insisted.

“Okay… if you say so…” Hemolymph muttered.

“I’m going to go down to the throne room. In the meantime… I suggest you evacuate with the others,” Jeremy instructed.

Hemolymph looked at him in dismay. “What if you get hurt again? I mean, not that it’d be a problem for me, I flew all the way here from the evacuation zone the first time-“

Jeremy gave her a horrified look. “Chrysalis summoned you from the evacuation zone to tend to me? Girl, you’d better get moving back there, I don’t want you getting hurt!” he urged, wondering why Chrysalis went and got her in the first place.

“Oh… okay…” Hemolymph obeyed, ears drooping.

“Sorry… but I just have to keep you all safe. I can’t bear the thought of something happening to any of you,” Jeremy explained quietly.

Hemolymph gave him a surprised look, which quickly shifted into a sad smile. “Would it be strange to say we feel the same about you?” she whispered, before hurrying from the room.

Jeremy watched her go, frowning – she hadn’t said that the first time he’d spoken to her. Then again, he’d said different things this time…

He quickly put his crown on, neglecting his robes this time – informal though he looked with his sweater and jeans, it was better than having that robe slowing him down. That was what had gotten him killed the first time…

He entered the throne room, the Guards that saw him approaching quickly moving into formation around him. Just like last time, Chrysalis hadn’t gotten back yet. Neither had the others, which unnerved Jeremy. Last time, Tirek and the other two had been waiting in this room. He accessed the hive mind through the crown, attempting to page Chrysalis.

Everything alright out there? he asked, adopting a contemplative position on the throne as the Guards took up their usual stances.

You’re okay! Thank Hespera, I thought you were going to go back for sure, Chrysalis immediately replied, sounding immensely relieved.

I did, once, Jeremy answered.

Chrysalis was silent for a moment. …Are we in the clear? she asked cautiously.

No, Jeremy answered truthfully. One last fight, I think. I won’t say with who, because I don’t want it to start until we’re ready, but the fight with Luna was just sort of a prelude.

Chrysalis projected a feeling of nervousness. This one… killed you last time, right? she asked hesitantly.

Yeah, Jeremy replied sadly. Got ahold of my robe, and… well, you can guess the rest.

Chrysalis was now feeling shock and revulsion. Should I bring them into the throne room? We’ve been kind of… conversing out here, Chrysalis informed him.

Yeah, go ahead, Jeremy answered, looking around at the murals covering the wall. He pulled out the menu and SAVED one more time, just to be sure.

Chrysalis entered a few minutes later, just like before, flanked by her own changeling Guards.

“Announcing Queen Chrysalis… and guests,” a changeling Guard called, attempting to imitate the pony Royal Guard from earlier.

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna walked in, glancing in surprise at Jeremy, seated on the throne and apparently back at full health. Jeremy looked around. Last time, he’d taken this seriously, with all the formal greetings and introductions he could muster. This time, though… this time, he was going to try something new.

“Heya,” he greeted as they walked in, intentionally adopting as informal of a poise as he could.

“…Hello…” Luna greeted cautiously.

Jeremy laughed. “Sorry, I just felt like breaking the ice. It’s so formal in here,” Jeremy explained. He stretched his legs across the throne, even Chrysalis looking at him in confusion. “So, cooled off?” he asked Luna.

Luna sighed. “She… I… yes. I have,” the lunar princess answered, looking frustrated.

Jeremy stopped lounging on his throne, adopting a more serious poise. “Look. I know what it’s like to confront your own inner demons. But… she’s not just evil, or something that exists only to scare small foals. She’s got hopes and dreams – the same as me… the same as you. Give her a chance, okay?” Jeremy finished.

Luna looked at the floor. “I… I will try,” she muttered.

“Are you alright?” Celestia queried. “You… you should be unconscious, at the very least.”

Jeremy shrugged, grinning. “I’m very stubborn,” he answered, and Chrysalis stifled a knowing giggle, buzzing her wings as she flew over to sit on his lap, where he immediately rubbed her forehead.

“So… you are the King of this hive? We were not aware such a position existed,” Luna spoke up.

Jeremy and Chrysalis shared a look. “I’ll explain in a moment, but… there was a very good reason for that,” Jeremy answered.

Tirek, Sombra, and Nightmare Moon chose that moment to enter the throne room, accompanied by their own changeling Guards, protectively encircling the three of them. Next, the pony Elements of Harmony entered, Twilight leading the group with Starlight Glimmer off to her side. Finally, to Jeremy’s (fake) surprise, six humans entered.

The first, at the front of the group, was a human Jeremy recognized very well. It was Sam, his best friend on Earth. He was slightly taller than Jeremy, at maybe six feet two inches, though a few inches were added on by his poofy brown hair. His hazel-brown eyes flicked around the room nervously, always returning to gaze at Jeremy in open shock within a few seconds. As usual, he was wearing an impossibly fluffy scarf, this time a dark purple in coloration. Below this, his t-shirt had a gray vortex on a black background, and he was wearing dark blue, impeccable skinny jeans underneath. Sam and Jeremy had met in a drama class years earlier, in middle school, and had quickly bonded over anime and gaming. Since then, they’d become such intense besties that half the school thought they were gay for each other, a rumor which they allowed to propagate because of how funny it was.

The second was a massive, burly human with fists the size of grapefruits and a torso to match. His skin was the second darkest in the room, and his gaunt stature was at odds with his gentle, boyish face, golden eyes that were usually crinkled upwards in a smile, and close-cropped, curly black hair. He was wearing a faded yellow t-shirt and light blue jeans, and was looking up at Jeremy with slight recognition and curiosity. This was Brayden, one of Sam’s friends from gym class, and widely known as a gentle giant. He played football a lot, and had been on the high school team as halfback. Brayden had emigrated all the way from Nicaragua, apparently due to poverty, and was pursuing a career in football to earn a better life for his family. Jeremy had often had worried discussions with him about football-related injuries, which Brayden had both figuratively and literally shrugged off during his many matches. Perhaps the thing Jeremy most remembered about Brayden was that the latter was often criticized by his fellow players for doing his utmost to avoid hurting the enemy team, lacking any of the competitive, violent spirit that the sport seemed to be famous for.

Just behind Brayden peeked out the darkest member of the group, one Jeremy just barely recognized as Avery. Avery was from New York City, and had moved to their hometown near Seattle for some reason Jeremy didn’t recall. He had been in a few classes with Avery, and he had seemed like a cool dude at the time, though they had never really talked much. Avery was a writer, always working on a book he wanted to publish one day about some fantasy setting involving dragons. Jeremy, who had read some of his early drafts, had tried to critique it as best he could, but couldn’t find much to say other than that he had liked it. Avery was currently wearing a bright red shirt with what appeared to be an upside down triangle with two lines underneath it – wasn’t that from Earthbound, or something? His jeans were darker than the other two, and full of holes – whether that was from poor care or something of a fashion statement, Jeremy had never been certain.

To Avery’s left, Nick was staring at a nearby changeling Guard, who was staring back. Nick was a pale white kid, almost as pale as Sam, with vivid green eyes and unerringly straight black hair. He was the shortest in the group, though with Brayden standing tall over the rest, this was not as obvious. Nick was famous among Sam’s circle of friends for collecting just about everything – stamps, cards, coins, ancient artifacts, rocks, and anything else he could think of. Jeremy, who collected a few things himself, had quickly befriended him, and they had often traded pieces of collections. Today, Nick was wearing a light blue shirt and similarly-colored jeans, which made him look peculiarly like he was wearing a one-piece suit.

Cory was near the back, his pudgy frame in stark contrast to Brayden’s well-built one. Cory, who had blond hair and blue eyes that were much more vivid than Jeremy’s own stormy gray-blue ones, was from Boston, and it clearly showed in the way he talked sometimes. He played band, specifically the trombone, and had developed an impressive set of lungs as a result. Cory was surprisingly dressed in his band clothing, a sharp black tuxedo with matching black pants and a white undershirt. This was in stark contrast to his casual attire, which was usually splattered with all manner of paints and dyes – Cory liked to consider himself an artist, comparing himself to someone called “Mark Rothko,” though Jeremy had never quite ‘got’ his rather unusual works.

Finally, in the very back, Kylie stood, awkwardly not making eye contact with Jeremy. Kylie was midway between Brayden and Nick in height, and had slightly tan skin with brown hair and golden eyes. What was most unusual, however, was that Kylie had been a girl the last time Jeremy had seen her, and had clearly transitioned to a male in between then and now. Jeremy, who had already seen this, decided not to bother acting surprised about it, just as he had before. Kylie was wearing a green high school shirt and pale blue jeans, and Jeremy recognized the shirt as advertising their own high school. When Jeremy had seen him last, Kylie had wanted to be a poet or songwriter, often composing impressive lyrics from daily events, news, and anything else she had heard at the time.

Jeremy immediately picked up Chrysalis, setting her gently back down on the throne as he leaped forward and strode towards Sam. Without another word, he held out his fist, grinning widely, and Sam bumped it in a gesture they’d shared for years now.

“And just what are you doing here?” Jeremy asked, pulling Sam into a hug a moment later.

“I could say the same about you! You’re a King, you just fought Luna in a cage match, not to mention that giant machine thing and the other you – what have you been doing lately? Besides getting thrown into Tartarus, you dirty criminal scum,” Sam joked.

Jeremy laughed loudly, still relieved that his bestie was unhurt. “Oh, well, you know me, I just had to set all those planets on fire,” Jeremy joked.

“What? But you didn’t-“ Twilight began, but stopped as Pinkie whispered something in her ear.

“Do you two know each other?” Celestia asked, sounding interested.

“We’ve been besties since middle school,” Sam automatically answered.

Celestia gazed at Jeremy thoughtfully, and Jeremy stared back, pulling away from Sam’s brohug and raising an eyebrow at her.

“So, Discord told me that you’re here to… ‘add me to your human collection,’” Jeremy noted distastefully.

Celestia laughed awkwardly. “I assure you, I am doing nothing of the sort,” she replied, trying to sound regal and mostly succeeding. “Perhaps your friend Sam can best explain?” she asked, looking at Sam, who flinched, caught off guard.

“Oh! Uh, sure,” he stammered, before clearing his throat. “Okay. Um. So. We’re… uh… We’re the new, human Elements of Harmony, which Celestia needs for… some reason… and we’re here to protect Equestria and also learn how to use the magic of friendship so we can spread that to Earth,” Sam haphazardly explained. He then looked at Celestia nervously. “Did I miss anything?” he asked. Celestia smiled encouragingly at him.

“No, that was quite accurate,” she soothed. Sam’s friends were suppressing quiet giggles, and Jeremy had a hand to his mouth to hide his grin. Them? Human Elements of Harmony?

“This is truly a top-rated fanfiction,” he joked. “In fact, I think it should be Featured.”

The humans burst out laughing, with the assorted ponies looking on in confusion. Tirek was looking at him strangely, but Jeremy elected to ignore it.

“Heh… okay. Elements of Harmony… I mean, I guess. That’s kinda weird to think about,” Jeremy remarked.

“Still not as weird as you being King of an entire nation,” Sam shot back, and Jeremy chuckled agreeably.

“Point taken. But, uh… I hate to sound rude, but… what exactly do you expect me to do with this information?” he asked, looking at Celestia.

“Pardon?” she responded blankly.

“They’re Elements of Harmony, and that’s real neat and all, but unless you intended to have them train by fighting the five of us, I just don’t see how this is really… relevant,” Jeremy noted. Man, this is taking forever, he complained in his head. She should really just get it over with.

He could feel Chrysalis behind him immediately scanning the room, eyes alighting on every female in turn suspiciously.

“My thoughts exactly,” Celestia spoke up, examining him. “The other six humans are accounted for, we are well aware of their purpose. However, you… You were not... expected. Therefore, we have traveled here to determine precisely what you have asked – your relevance.”

Jeremy shrugged. “Probably not much, in all honesty. I’m just here to make sure my changelings get fed properly.”

At this, the changeling Guards stood up a little straighter, knowing smiles breaking out on their faces.

Princess Cadance stepped forward, an eager expression on her face. “Auntie, I just thought of something,” she spoke up, looking at Celestia.

“Oh? What is it, Princess Cadance?” Celestia answered curiously.

“We do know of a secret seventh Element of Harmony – the Element of Love. Star Swirl proved that it was an Element of Harmony, even if it lacked an artifact to wield its power. And he’s the best candidate for it! Best friend of the Element of Magic, broke the Harmony Barrier which needed very powerful love magic to break, a pacifist… I think that’s what he is,” Cadance conjectured.

There was a moment of silence.

“That makes so much sense, it hurts,” Sombra quipped, and the assorted humans stifled giggles.

“Hey, looks like you’re an Element now, too,” Sam spoke up, elbowing Jeremy.

Jeremy took on a mock-exasperated expression. “Oh, great, does that mean I have to make a Compound every time some other Element gets near me?” he asked sarcastically.

About half the humans and Princess Twilight laughed. “I missed your nerd humor,” Sam chuckled.

“That’s a relief, because nobody here gets it. First thing I’m doing if we go back to Earth is getting some science textbooks, so that everyone in the Hive can understand my bad science jokes. Oh, and educate themselves too, I guess,” Jeremy retorted, to more laughter.

Shining Armor, who had apparently been watching them, stepped forward, eyeing him suspiciously. “Yeah, so about the whole ‘feeding your changelings’ thing. How exactly do you plan on feeding them?” he asked, a hint of accusation in his tone as the laughter immediately quieted down.

Chrysalis growled at him from behind Jeremy, and he sent a quick Stop that her way. “I dunno, we seem to be getting on pretty well on our own right now. Maybe once the current love supply runs out, we’ll go for some kind of trade deal with Equestria or other nations?” Jeremy shrugged.

Shining narrowed his eyes at him. “What, we’ll give you our love and you won’t kill us? Is that your ‘trade?’” he retorted.

Jeremy raised an eyebrow at him. “Why would I do something like that?” he asked.

“Why would Queen Chrysalis invade my wedding?” he shot back. “You changelings are nothing more than love-sucking monsters! You don’t know compromise, or friendship,” he spat. “The first changeling we met that didn’t try to kill us didn’t even know what friendship was!”

Sombra laughed darkly. “This, coming from Captain Try-Hard! You think you’re such a paragon of virtue? You let the entire changeling nation starve after learning of their existence! Why would they want to be friends with you?” the shadow king challenged.

Shining immediately adopted a battle stance. “Call me racist all you like, but at least I didn’t ruin my own kingdom!” he retaliated, tossing his head angrily. “You sent thousands of Crystal Ponies to work themselves to exhaustion in an airless mine, all so your palace could look even more opulent than it already was! You have no right to criticize me, and you know it!”

Princess Cadance came forward, pulling Shining back. “Enough, Shiny,” she pleaded. “There is no reason in continuing this fight, not when they aren’t going to fight back,” Cadance added a moment later, with a pointed look at Sombra and Chrysalis.

“Yes there is!” Shining brusquely rebutted, brushing her hoof off before pointing one of his own at Jeremy. “He shows up out of Tartarus itself with these four as his lackeys! He defeats the System Defenses, something that shouldn’t even be possible, and then fights off some weird other version of himself – remind me, how do we know which one was the evil version and which was the ‘good?’ The way I see it, there’s only two possibilities: Either he’s using them, or they’re using him. Need I mention that the Queen there can mind-control ponies?” Shining ranted. “Maybe he’s a demon who’s taken the form of your friend!” he added, looking at Sam, who stared at Jeremy helplessly as Shining continued to viciously lash out at anything and everything. “And let’s not even get started on the idea that these four can ever ‘redeem’ themselves! You think Chrysalis just, what, got over being a monster and threat to Equestria for the past two years?” Shining spat. “And that Sombra just got better after being the single most tyrannical royal to ever disgrace Equestria’s history?” he added, turning to glare at the shadow unicorn, who glared right back, purple smoke beginning to pour from his eyes.

“Shining!” Cadance pleaded, but it was lost on her husband.

“The last time I was here, I was being dangled upside-down in a pod, having the love sucked out of me!” Shining shouted, his voice ringing across the chamber. “And half of you were as well – do you not remember that?!” he demanded, looking around at the pony Elements of Harmony and Starlight Glimmer, who flinched back. Having finally finished his rant, as Jeremy knew he would, Shining huffed and puffed angrily, glaring at him as the Crystal Prince awaited his reaction.

Jeremy, for his part, shrugged. “You’re entirely right,” he answered, catching Shining off guard.

“W-what?” Shining Armor stammered.

“Being good isn’t just a choice,” Jeremy carefully began. “It isn’t something that you can choose once, and be done with it. You have to keep choosing it, every minute of every hour of every day, and never go back. And when you’ve spent your entire life being told that you’re supposed to be evil… it sounds pretty comfortable to just go along with that, instead,” Jeremy mused, though there was an edge of steel to his tone. “But these four have proven to me that they want to take the hard path. They want to prove themselves worthy of being called ‘good.’ They have had their reasons for doing what they did, and they have recognized those reasons as unjustified, and they have worked to better themselves. They are by no means perfect, that much will always be true. And, too, they are not ‘good’ as of the moment. They’re not heroes. But they’re improving, and striving to improve. And that’s more than I could ever ask of them,” Jeremy countered.

“Oh… oh yeah? What reasons? What sob story will you tell us to make us think they deserve pity?” Shining countered, though his earlier bravado was now tinged with a note of uncertainty.

“I’m so glad you asked,” Jeremy answered, smiling slightly as he walked over to examine the first of the murals depicted on the wall. It depicted a small, mosquito-like insect, a bubbling green liquid, and a tall, thin creature – the first changeling, staring out of the frame with glowing green eyes. “I have a story to tell you,” Jeremy began, the glowing moss reflecting off of his orange hair to create an eerie halo. “Well, actually, I have quite a few stories to tell you. And before you ask, yes, they are important. It’s important that, even if you don’t want to be friends, you at least understand why we did what we did.”

“Thousands of years ago, a small insect wandered into a strange cavern. It had recently fed on its share of pony blood, and decided to rest on a small rock in the middle of a pond. But this was no ordinary pond. It had been tainted by an unknown source of magic, gaining mutagenic properties. As the rock slowly sank into the mud beneath the pond, so too did the insect, until, still sleeping, it was submerged. The liquid dissolved the insect to its core, but the DNA of the pony it had fed on, as well as the insect’s own genetic code, remained intact. Out of the pond rose… something new. It had no internal organs, for its insides were simply that same mutagenic liquid, stabilized by the pony’s magic into a less corrosive form. It had the wings of the insect, the horn of the pony… and the body of both. It was the First Changeling, Queen Hespera the Immortal.”

“Hespera, upon understanding her existence, sought to learn more. She wanted to learn why she had been created – for she, like a certain pony princess, did not believe in accidents. If there was one thing she was certain of, it was that she had a purpose, a reason for being. So she traveled far from her birthplace, searching for her destiny.”

“Ponies at first shunned her for who she was, shutting her out in fear of a monster. Rumors quickly spread – that she ate foals, that she had no soul, and so forth. So Hespera learned the first thing that every changeling has ever learned: If it is to survive, it must adapt. Hespera used the magic inside her, as well as her formless internal structure, to change shape, mimicking that of a pony she’d seen.”

“Through pure instinct, she learned how she functioned. Feeding on the positive emotions of those same ponies who shunned her, she learned how best to get them to exhibit those emotions. Some might have called it cunning, some duplicity. Hespera called it learning. She merely wanted to understand ‘love’, for she felt that this was her calling.”

“Time passed. Hespera gave birth to young, and raised them as she’d seen ponies raised. She knew nothing else than what ponies had taught her, despite her incessant drive to continue discovering. She also discovered that she could birth two types of changelings: Ordinary drones… and queens.”

“And so, Hespera birthed the Second Queen, Reduuva. Hespera taught her daughter all she knew as the two of them aged. But despite her name, which had been given to her by her own young for her unwillingness to give in to the world’s hatred, Hespera would not last long. As she died, she taught her daughter her final lesson, to be passed down through generations of Queens. “Never hurt the ponies, no matter what they do unto you,” she pleaded with her daughter. “For though they hate and fear, they are the spark that keeps us alive. They have taught me the most important lesson of all, and the reason why we changelings were created: The importance of loving one another.”

“Hespera died hugging her daughter, transferring the last bit of energy she had.”

Jeremy paused at this moment, moving past a few other murals. “Time passed. The lesson Hespera taught was successfully passed down, Queen to Queen. And although many a Queen disregarded the meaning behind the message, they did not dare disobey the First Changeling, due to a rumor bandied about since Reduuva’s time: Any Queen that broke this Law, the most important of all Laws… would be punished by no less than Fate itself.”

“More time passed. Ponies grew smarter, learning how to find and oust changelings. But the changelings, ever mindful of the ways of the First, learned to adapt. They improved their disguises to cover touch, smell, and even taste instead of just sight. They learned pony mannerisms – how to smile, how to cry, how to be kind. But it was not enough. Ponies were simply too determined to defeat what they saw as an enemy. The hive… began dying. Changelings were starving, and though the Queens had long ago learned to “re-use” souls and personalities, thus keeping all changelings technically “alive” as long as the Queen was alive, their efforts to sustain love were proving futile.”

“One changeling drone, tired of living in misery, rose up. He claimed “enough is enough!” and demanded something drastic be done about the poverty changelings were suffering. He marched to the Queen, and demanded the one thing that no changeling must ever ask of their Queen. He asked her to break the Law.”

“The Queen, true to her forebearers, exiled him from the hive for blasphemy. But this changeling was too determined to simply give up. Like the First, he traveled far and wide to discover the secrets of his kind. Like the First, he learned much from the little ponies. But unlike the First Changeling, this drone was not motivated by curiosity, much less a desire to aid his fellow changelings. He was, quite simply, out for power.”

“He returned, years later, fat and healthy. The other changelings were shocked to see one they presumed dead, standing proud in front of them. His Queen was equally shocked – and somewhat enticed by the aura of power he radiated. She offered him a welcome return to the hive, something no changeling had ever accomplished, in exchange for his wisdom.”

“Of course, it became clear shortly that his ‘wisdom’ consisted of brutality and savagery. Ponies were nothing but livestock, to be used as a source of food – and only food. More and more changelings were swayed to his position, desperate for his tales of a full meal and good night’s sleep. To avoid losing her position, the current Queen of the Hive named him King, another unheard-of thing for a drone, and began following his orders.”

“However, as King, this drone grew an unhealthy appetite for conquest. Both of the outside world… and of himself. Desperate to retain his dominion, he slowly began abusing his Queen, asking more and more drastic things of her, and keeping the rewards for himself. She was unable to satisfy his lusts, both for power and for her, and suffered brutal tortures as a result. Like any Queen, she had the determination to keep going, to survive despite what her own ‘husband’ was inflicting upon her. His requests grew more and more impossible: Take a village, then a town. Then a city. She tried her best, but it was never enough.”

“Until one day…” Jeremy paused for effect, looking at Shining Armor, who was looking at him with a mixture of sympathy and suspicion.

“He demanded she invade Canterlot.”

Cadance gasped, and looked over to Chrysalis, who had spent the whole monologue with her eyes facing downward. “You…?” she queried. Even Shining Armor looked over in shock.

Chrysalis looked away. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled, sounding as though she were about to cry.

Jeremy knew that she indeed was about to cry. So, in an effort to distract the others, he continued his story.

“She could not refuse, for her King would surely kill her if she did. The changeling King had become so large from all the love he’d stolen that he could now retain his kingdom by sheer force – she, alone, could not possibly defeat him. Yet something in her stirred at this request – an old memory, a Law she should not dare break. An impossible choice… but one she had to make.”

“She tried. She failed. She tried again. And, unlike all the other times… she was captured for it.”

“Cast into Tartarus, she pined for the loss of her hive. She could not reach the hive mind, and ask them to come find her – such was the nature of the Harmony Barrier. And… she no longer wanted to be found. She presumed herself exiled, for having failed this final request of her vicious, hateful husband. She’d broken the Law, and she’d been punished by Fate… or ‘Harmony’… for it. In her eyes, she no longer deserved to call herself ‘Queen’.”

Jeremy paused at an unfinished mural, this time depicting a single human hand reaching out from above to touch a raised changeling hoof. “But in the depths of Tartarus, something happened. A single creature came by. This creature had no magic, no talons or claws or means of attack. All he had was his mind, body and soul. In her sorrow, she attacked him, believing he was just another pony. Another who’d hate her for what she looked like, and what she’d done.”

“She wasn’t expecting a friend,” Chrysalis spoke up. Jeremy looked over at her in surprise, and she walked forward to join him, turning around to face their audience.

“The friend managed to convince her to follow him, in hopes of an escape,” Chrysalis continued. “Despite her every attempt to hate him, he was kind. He was patient. He listened, he never once spoke ill of her. And, despite everything she’d been through… a memory stirred. A memory of her mother, the former Queen, teaching her an important lesson. To never hurt another, no matter what they do unto you. And here was that lesson, embodied in the voice and body and soul of her new friend. Someone who refused to hurt her, even when she did wrong by him. Even when she nearly killed him. The Queen began to wonder if it was possible to reverse what time and hate and fear had done to her – to once again be respected and loved. And… she’d heard another legend, while in Tartarus. The legend of an angel from above, that would descend to free the inmates of Tartarus and teach them all they had forgotten.”

“The Friend was true to his word. He met many new foes along his journey. He spared them all. He befriended them all. His Love was so strong that he was willing to give up his life to save them, despite all they had done. And thus… the Barrier was broken. The Queen walked into the sunlight, free once more.”

“She took the Friend with her, despite the others’ pleas to leave him with the ponies, where he would be safe. Hopefully, she thought, if the Friend could convince such a darkened creature as her to turn towards light, he could save her changelings as well. And it worked. The Friend woke up, and without even hesitating, he confronted the King.”

“The King, maddened by the return of the only threat to his dominion, attempted to defeat the Friend. He very nearly succeeded. But despite everything, the Friend refused to fight back. He made a single plea to the surrounding drones. He asked why. Why they put up with someone who did nothing but hate, why they had never tried friendship and love instead. Inspired by his determination to love others, the drones drained the love of the King, reducing him back to a drone.”

“Despite everything, despite knowing each and every sin the former King had committed, the Friend refused even to judge him. All he wanted was for the former King to listen. But the drone refused.” Here Chrysalis paused.

“Rather than change his ways, he fled the Hive, never to return.”

Jeremy’s face fell as he remembered that particular failure. Chrysalis bumped him in the leg, giving him a sympathetic look. “And that is the story of the changelings,” Jeremy concluded. He turned to gaze Shining Armor, giving him a look as serious as he could muster. “If you still want to hate us, I won’t blame you. But please… please at least understand us first.”

The Crystal Prince looked between him and Chrysalis uncertainly. “So… you didn’t… want to? All this time, you’d been forced to do all these horrible things?” Shining queried.

Chrysalis sadly nodded. “Changelings aren’t supposed to hurt ponies. It doesn’t make any sense – why would we spend so much time making you hate us, if we feed on your love?”

Princess Cadance looked at her husband, who shrugged helplessly, then turned back to the changeling queen with a sigh. “We’re sorry we judged you,” Cadance reluctantly admitted. “Do you promise not to drain the love of our little ponies anymore?”

Chrysalis nodded. “I promise… and so too will my changelings. With the Element of Love as our King, we won’t have to force any love out of anyone. We’ll have enough… for now, at least.” The changeling queen tried for a smile, but all that came out was a sigh. “I should be asking your forgiveness, Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor… I never should have done it. Never in a million years. May we… may we be friends? May changelings and ponies… be friends?”

Princess Celestia stepped forward. “On my word as Princess, I vote that the laws calling for the deportation and imprisonment of changelings be abolished immediately, effective as soon as we return. What say you, Princesses Luna and Twilight?”

Both nodded vigorously. Princess Luna stepped forward. “I know what it feels like to be made a monster, but to not even have wanted the role in the first place… I am so sorry, Queen Chrysalis.”

Nightmare Moon flinched as if struck at her comment, and Luna looked over in mild disgust.

Princess Twilight stepped forward as well, reluctantly putting away the notes she had been frantically and silently scribbling. “I apologize too. I should have tried to understand, instead of just writing you off as ‘evil’… will you forgive me?” she asked.

Chrysalis flashed her a quick, sad smile. “Of course I will!” she answered. Finally, she turned her gaze back to Jeremy. “Did I… did I do it right?” she asked.

Jeremy smiled. “Flawlessly. You make me look mean,” he complimented. Chrysalis immediately launched herself at him in a hug, and Jeremy grinned as he rubbed her carapace comfortingly.

“Okay… so Chrysalis was abused into doing it. I guess that makes some sort of sense,” Shining scoffed. “But what about Sombra? What’s his excuse?”

Jeremy smiled, glancing over at the shadow king. “Ready?” he called over to Sombra, who snorted.

“Go ahead,” Sombra answered, daintily gathering his tattered and burnt robes around himself. “I’ve nothing to hide.” Jeremy nodded, turning back to his new audience.

“Sombra was orphaned as a child, and adopted and raised by his mom and dad on a distant crystal farm. His father wanted him to be a blacksmith, just like him, but Sombra wanted to be a musician instead – which, at the time, was apparently a ‘fad’.” Jeremy stopped to snort in amusement. “Anyway, Sombra’s father was rather… physical about his desires for his son’s upbringing. Very old-fashioned kind of guy, really into corporal punishment. I met him once in a memory. He wasn’t very nice,” Jeremy reminisced. “Anyway, Sombra grew up believing that unicorns were superior, and that the other races of pony were made to serve them. So, he rose through the political ranks, becoming a high-ranking Crystal Guard. He gained a loyal following of unicorns, those who listened to his demagoguery. He befriended a younger Princess Luna, giving her the inspiration that would eventually lead to the initial creation of Nightmare Moon. And… he assassinated Princess Amor,” Jeremy reluctantly admitted. Princess Cadance growled at Sombra from across the room, and Sombra growled right back. Jeremy shot the two of them a quelling look as he continued his story.

“From there, his reign only went downhill. At first, Sombra had everything he wanted. Power, fame, riches… mares,” Jeremy finished, looking slightly sour as he glanced at Sombra, who guiltily looked away. “But he had no idea how to rule a kingdom, despite his promises of wealth and power to anyone who listened. So, in desperation, he began resorting to drastic measures to gain wealth and keep the country’s economy afloat. He spent all the national budget on mining crystals – it was what he knew, from years of doing the same for his father’s smithy. Around the same time, he began amassing an army.”

“Princesses Celestia and Luna confronted him, of course. Or at least, Luna tried. Celestia sent her away, for fear of losing her sister to his shadowy ways – she knew of her sister’s friendship with the enemy. But Sombra, knowing he would lose a confrontation with Celestia, had one final trick to play. Just as Celestia neared the Crystal Empire, it vanished. All that could be found was a single, pink alicorn filly, frozen by the arctic winds into a state of magical stasis.”

“You all know what happened next. The Crystal Empire was rediscovered. Sombra was revived, and quickly defeated. His soul, heavily permeated by shadow magic, was imprisoned in Tartarus. As a final act of irony, Celestia chose not to place him in any special confinement, merely a modified standard prison cell, alone in a block of empty cells. This was apparently to show him that he was not even worthy of a ‘kingly’ punishment.”

Celestia flinched, and Jeremy looked over at her. “I – I only wanted to make him see that he was not all that he thought he was,” Celestia countered lamely.

Jeremy declined to comment on this, instead focusing on sending a mental message. Every Guard in the area: As soon as I give you the signal, be prepared to escort everyone, including the ponies, out of the Hive. I want nobody in this entire mountain but me and one other pony – you’ll know who she is. The Guards all stared at him, a subtle nod confirming they had received the order, and Chrysalis looked up at him nervously. You too, honey, Jeremy added. I don’t want you getting hurt.

Chrysalis reluctantly looked back down at Shining, who was watching them impatiently. “So, what, he was abused too? Are all of you abuse cases?” Shining snorted.

“Probably,” Tirek retorted, one corner of his mouth curling up in mild amusement.

“We most certainly art not!” Nightmare Moon denied, glaring at Tirek.

Jeremy raised an eyebrow at both of them, and they fell silent. “Alright, I guess we’ll continue, then. Nightmare Moon… wait. Doesn’t everyone here already know this story?” Jeremy asked.

There was a sea of nodding heads, and Luna looked faintly embarrassed.

Jeremy shrugged. “Well, not much point retelling it, then. I guess I’ll just say that when I met her, alone in Tartarus and the only prisoner to be placed in the Maximum Security Isolation Wing, she was the kindest to me. The first to help, and the last to judge. At this point, she’s practically the ‘mom friend’ of the group, we all know the type,” Jeremy joked. Nightmare Moon blushed, looking away.

“So… you are not going to force an eternal night upon my little ponies?” Luna asked of the taller lunar alicorn.

“Nay,” Nightmare Moon sighed. “We hath found… that holding a grudge is not the most efficient course of action. We would like to apologize to thee for our transgressions… if thou wouldst accept our friendship?” she asked hesitantly.

Luna stared at her for a moment, then looked to Celestia. “Goodness, did I really sound like that?” she asked. Everyone in the room giggled, and Jeremy hid a smirk behind his hand.

“Verily,” was all he answered, and everyone laughed louder.

Luna approached Nightmare Moon, who stepped back uncertainly. “I have suffered so much, by your hoof,” Luna began. Nightmare Moon flinched. “But I have learned much, too. About how to love myself… and others. And I see you have learned the same lessons I have. Therefore… I accept your friendship, Nightmare Moon. Though… it will be hard, I think, to find a place for you,” Luna wondered aloud.

“Maybe she could help you with nightmares,” Jeremy suggested.

“Perhaps,” Luna agreed. “We shall see.”

Nightmare Moon flashed a hopeful smile at Jeremy, who returned it before returning his gaze to the audience. “Alright, last one. Everyone still awake?” he joked. Sam immediately pretended to snore, and Jeremy chortled at his friend’s antics. “Sam, wake up! You’ll be quizzed on this later!” he called out. Sam pretended to snore louder, and most of the rest of the ponies and humans giggled.

“We’ll be quizzed? I didn’t bring any flashcards!” Twilight exclaimed, upset.

Jeremy rolled his eyes. “You won’t actually be quizzed, Twilight,” he sighed, three of his four friends from Tartarus suppressing some chuckles of their own. “Okay, okay. Levity over. Tirek… you alright?” Jeremy asked, noticing that the centaur was currently in a sitting position, elbows on his front knees and hands on his cheeks, looking as though he wanted nothing more than to be out of there.

“Just bored, carry on,” Tirek answered.

“Don’t worry, it won’t be so bad. This story I don’t know much about, so it might be a little shorter than the rest. This is the story of Prince Tirek, and his brother Prince Scorpan,” Jeremy began, pausing a moment to catch his breath.

“Prince Tirek and Prince Scorpan were born to their parents, King Haydon and Queen Vespa, in a far-off land. Haydon and Vespa were just rulers, who never once erred by their country. They raised their two sons in the hopes that they’d be just the same, and Tirek and Scorpan grew into adolescence looking as though they were to be as wise as their parents.”

“But Tirek’s personal tutor, a very old centaur named Sendak the Elder, was not very just, despite being very wise. During his teachings, he reinforced one lesson until it was burned into Tirek’s mind. ‘Tirek, in this world, it’s kill or be killed,’ he taught, and Tirek listened. Sendak began to teach him… other things. Dangerous things. Sendak taught him how to absorb the magic of others, converting it into his own, and thus granting him eternal life and essentially infinite strength – something Sendak had been making use of for quite some time. Tirek, fascinated by these new teachings and feeling that eternal teenage rebelliousness against his parents, delved deep into Sendak’s studies.”

“One day, Sendak brought him something strange. A unicorn, relatively small and weak, and far from its homeland. He pleaded with Sendak to let it go, but Sendak merely laughed. He shoved the unicorn towards Prince Tirek, and demanded he absorb its magic. Tirek could not refuse his tutor, for Sendak was much older and more influential than he. So he absorbed the magic of the unicorn.”

“Instantly he felt a change. He felt stronger, more powerful than he ever had. Tirek wanted more. He convinced his brother Scorpan to accompany him to find the homeland of this unicorn, lying to his parents by saying he was to return the stallion home like he wanted.”

“But then, Tirek enacted his real plan, absorbing magic of ponies around Equestria and gaining seemingly limitless strength. Driven by his lust for power, and constantly reminded of the ‘kill-or-be-killed’ teachings of Sendak, Tirek continued to terrorize the nation. Afraid of his growing power, the Princesses Celestia and Luna managed to amass enough magic to override his own, draining the magic he’d stolen and returning it to whence it came. He was imprisoned in Tartarus, barely conscious. Barely able to even exist.”

“But Tirek would not give up. He refused to be killed. So, little by little, he used the magic of the Harmony Barrier itself to gain strength. Slowly, he planned. A thousand years passed by, as he waited for the right time. Then, suddenly, a change. The guard dog, Cerberus, had left its post. In addition, the Royal Guards seemed to be missing as well. It was all too perfect. Using the abilities Sendak had taught him, Tirek managed to chip a hole in the Harmony Barrier just big enough to crawl through, the hole instantly sealing up behind him.”

“He emerged in what we now know to be the Castle of the Two Sisters, and set about regaining his strength. He stayed hidden, fearing what would happen if ponies were to discover his return too soon. He nearly had a heart attack when the Elements of Harmony visited the castle, apparently in search of the Pony of Shadows,” Jeremy smirked at the pony Elements, who each stifled a slight chuckle of their own. “But he managed to keep out of sight.”

“You know the part that happens next. He returned, befriended Discord, betrayed Discord before Discord could betray him, and got defeated. Tirek was re-imprisoned in Tartarus, never to escape again,” Jeremy paused.

“Isn’t that right, Celestia?”

The solar princess blanched. “What… do you mean?” she asked carefully. Jeremy glared at her, walking forward until he was squaring off against the solar diarch.

Get ready, he mentally cautioned the changeling Guards, who stiffened in surprise before hurriedly positioning themselves around everyone except Jeremy and Celestia. Oh, and take the murals too, if you can. No sense having them burned so quickly, he added.

“What I said. Tirek was simply imprisoned in Tartarus, and nothing else happened. Right?” Jeremy repeated.

Celestia swallowed nervously. “I… I know what I did may have seemed a little… unorthodox. But I assure you, it was for the greater good! He was a valuable object of scientific research!” Celestia defended.

“Wait… Sister? What is this?” Luna queried, and Celestia shot her a nervous glance before turning back to Jeremy.

“If you want to discuss this further, I-I would like to suggest we do so privately,” Celestia offered. “I promise I will answer all your questions, and-“ but Jeremy cut her off with a hand.

“You’ll answer all my questions? Really. So you’ll tell me why you had Tirek chained just outside the Lab, surrounded by lava, and performed experiments on him that were apparently so torturous that he was hallucinating when I met him? Not only that, but he was chained to a platform enchanted with ‘Blood Magic’ – which I have on pretty good authority requires a pony sacrifice to be created!” Jeremy accused.

Sam and the other humans stared at Celestia in shock, and she stepped back from Jeremy. “The – the pony did so willingly!” Celestia cried out. “He was put to sleep, and then sacrificed – he wasn’t hurt in the slightest!”

Luna gazed at her sister in openmouthed shock. “S-sister?! You – but that’s Dark Magic, a most terrible kind! You’d never – I – what?!” Luna spluttered, and Shining Armor was looking over at the two of them in horror and dismay.

“What’s wrong, Celestia? Are you shocked that I just told everyone how you lied to your sister? How you’ve been lying to her for three straight years?!” Jeremy viciously went on.

Meanwhile, the changeling Guards were ushering the others out of the room, encountering surprisingly little resistance.

“I – I, I-“ Celestia stammered, unable to form a response.

“Answer me!” Jeremy thundered.

“I… I was only trying to protect everyone! If we had the ability to create more places like Tartarus, Equestria would never have to worry about another villain again! Ponies would not have to live in constant fear of being destroyed by some outside foe!” she rebutted, managing to find her voice.

“And how long until the threat you so desperately seek to destroy becomes an inner one?” Jeremy retorted. “If you have the ability to lock up anyone, regardless of whether they committed a crime, what’s to stop you from doing anything you want to ensure Equestria’s ‘safety?’”

Celestia breathed rapidly, eyes darting around the room. “I – I could say the same for you!” she accused back, pointing a shaking hoof at him. “With four of Equestria’s worst villains at your beck and call, what is to stop you from doing anything you want?!”

Jeremy raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. “They are most certainly not at my beck and call. They are here because they want to be here, and not attacking because they do not want to attack. Unlike you, I have faith in them,” he sniped.

Celestia appeared taken aback, then slowly narrowed her eyes. “You think you’re some kind of savior?” she muttered. “Some angel, like that legend my mother told me when I was a filly? You don’t know what it’s like to sacrifice for someone else! I was doing everything, everything to protect Luna! She is the only reason I did any of what I did – I didn’t want any more monsters to ruin her life! Couldn’t have t-them – her – hurting Lulu again – so I – I had to – don’t you understand – I HAD TO!!” she shouted, flaring her wings and unleashing the Royal Canterlot Voice. “I ANSWER TO NO ONE, LEAST OF ALL A STUCK-UP BRAT WHO THINKS HE’S SOME KIND OF HERO!” she screamed, before launching herself at Jeremy.

Here we go again, he thought grimly, pulling out the menu and SAVING as he dived out of the way.

The changeling throne was instantly scorched to cinders, and Celestia was lost amid a cone of blaring heat and light which hurt just to look at.

“Celestia, stop!” Jeremy called out. “You don’t have to fight!”

The fire slowly, unwillingly died down to reveal Celestia, but… different. Her hair was a pure, orange-hot fire, and her eyes blazed crimson with the same raging passion.

“I AM NOT CELESTIA ANYMORE! I AM DAYBREAKER, AND I WILL PROTECT MY COUNTRY FROM ANYTHING I DEEM NECESSARY!” she asserted, her horn emitting a blazing arc of light that burned all it touched.