Author's Note

Oh my god. Two chapters in one day?! What is this?! Christmas?! :P

May the darkness grant you peace.

Act 7: The Beginning Of The Road To A Deeper Bond

A flashing white light appears as Zemrite, Celestia and Luna come flying out of it and onto the floor. Having just escaped the eyes of the other ponies before the shroud completely vanished. Zemrite gets to his feet quickly and turns to look at both Celestia and Luna.. he quickly makes his way to them and helps them up and has them sit on Celestia’s bed. Not even thinking he removes the remains of the top of their clothes to make sure that scaring hadn’t taken place. The two princesses blinked and blushed heavily at what he was doing.

“You two don’t feel any lingering pain in the place that was wounded do you?”

He asked with genuine concern, more worried about them than what he was looking at now. They both nod and smile to him lightly, still blushing.

“We are fine Zemrite...I am impressed, however. You have such self-control when you are in the presence of two nearly nude mares…”

“Indeed, very very impressive.”

They both teased. Zemrite facepalmed, shaking his head in the process.

“Come on now...if this was a different situation sure. But you two go really hurt by that thing. How could I not worry?”

They both nod in agreement, both having new undergarments appearing on their bodies to hide the good, but only just.

“We know that, Zemrite. We were just teasing you is all.”

Said Celestia with a giggle hidden behind her hand, her sister followed after speaking as well.

“Indeed...always so serious.”

Zemrite crossed his arms. He couldn’t be angry with them, he knew they were only teasing him. They were trying to make light of the situation. Then his thoughts turned to Twilight and the others.

“I need to go see if Twi and her friends are alright. Hopefully, they ran to the guest rooms you provided for them.”

He turns and makes his way to the door. Before he opens it however, Celestia calls out to him.

“Zemrite, please return here after you are done.”

“Uuuh...okay?”

He said before he walked out the door and closed it behind him. He started running down the large corridors at great speed. Making a stop by the Gala hall to make sure there was no pony hurt. The corpse had already been moved it seemed. He ran towards one of the guard and reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Any casualties from the beast?”

The guard shakes his head, happily.

“Thankfully no. We did not see how the beast was defeated after this strange darkness came along and swallowed the castle. We couldn’t even see our hands in front of our faces. But when it faded and we made our way to the Gala hall. It was completely dead. Something..or somepony carved it up and put a killing blow to the head. I am also happy that our citizens didn’t see what happened either. Though the princesses have disappeared. And they were hurt badly in the attack i heard.”

You don’t have to worry about them. They are safe and their wounds have been treated. I made sure of that.”

Before the guard could ask anything else, Zemrite ran out the room and down to the guest wing. Remembering which door Twilight was behind, he reaches up and knocks on the door.

“Twi? Are you in there? It’s Zemrite”

The door slowly opens, that familiar purple gaze peeking out at him. The door opens to reveal her and...the others apparently. He tilts his head slightly as he comes in.

“Good...you are all safe. I am gla-.”

Suddenly he is pounced by both Twilight and Fluttershy, both of the mares nuzzling into him tightly.

“You are alright! We were so so worried about you Zem!”

Exclaimed Twilight, pressing herself against him, Fluttershy doing the same.

“You were so brave! I still can’t believe you took that thing down!”

He blinked as he heard that come out of Fluttershy’s mouth. He expected her to be a little upset for what he did. But she wasn’t. The others smiled up at him as they approached.

“We saw the whole fight. Twilight cast a spell so we could see in the dark. And what we saw was pretty awesome, not gonna lie!”

Dash said with a fist pump, lightly punching him in the arm as well.

“Oh indeed. You took down that brute like it was nothing. It got what it deserved!”

Rarity said with a firm nod

“Remind me not to make you mad...that’s for sure.”

Applejack said with a bit of nervousness in her voice. And of course, Pinkie Pie starts jumping around Zemrite. Being her usual energetic self.

“And you looked like a scary ghosty-goo while you were doing it to!”

Twilight looked up at Zemrite, her eyes focusing on his.

“The princesses..they are alright?”

“Yes Twi. The healing potions I have them sealed their gashes shut, not even scars remain. Even though I took a risk on it, not knowing if they would work or not. But I am glad they did.”

She nodded, giving a sigh of relief. Both her and Fluttershy release him from their embraces, backing away from him.

“The corpse of the dread wolf has been disposed of I think. It was gone when I had passed the Gala hall. Though I am curious as to how it was even here. Dread wolves are creatures from my world. So to have one here...it raises concern. But as long as all of you are safe, that is all I am worried about.”

“Aww...thank you Zemrite...that is so sweet of you to worry about us.”

“Come on Twi. You know I care about you and your friends. I know you and Shy are quite fond of me. But even if the others aren’t I don’t mind. Anyways, the princesses requested I return to them after I have got done checking on you. I hope you all get a good night’s sleep, especially after that. Sweet dreams to you all.”

He said before walking to the door, opening it and making his way out.

“Good night Zem, sweet dreams to you as well.”

Twilight said before he shut the door. He makes his way back to Celestia’s chambers, lightly knocking on the door before speaking.

“Tia, Lulu, it’s me. May I come in?”

“Ah, yes please Zemrite. Do come in”

He heard Celestia say. He nodded and opened the door, only to find them both lying on their sides in sensual poses. His heart nearly exploded as he saw this. If he had his tail sprouted right about now, it’d be wagging out of control.

“I..see you have made yourselves comfortable.”

He said as he walked over to the couch that was in front of the bed, sitting down in front of them and keeping his gaze to the floor. He starts fidgeting with his hands as he maintains a glance to the floor.

“So what is it that you wanted me here for again?”

They both giggled at him. Finding his shyness rather adorable. Clearly, he hasn’t had much experience with this kind of situation. Having one female nearly nude was hard enough. But two? They both slide from the bed and walks over to him, each one sitting beside him and lean in, nuzzling against his shoulders affectionately.

“You don’t need to be so tense, Zemrite. You have cuddled with us like this before…”

Celestia said in a gentle tone.

“Y-yeah, but I was in my wolf form...when I am in this form it affects me differently. N-not in a bad way, just…”

They nuzzle in closer, wrapping their arms around him in a warm embrace.

“We owe you very much for what you have done this night, Zemrite. The fact that someone like you would rush to our sides when we were hurt so badly. And even gave us something that you may have needed in the future. It means a great deal.”

“Tia is right, it was a selfless act. You see, we may be immortal. But that doesn’t mean we are invincible. We can die from bleeding out and various kind of physical damage when enough is applied. Had you not been there tonight, that beast may have very well ended us.”

Zemrite looks between them both, then back down at his hands.

“Well...how could I not rush to your side? Other than Twi and Shy, you two are my absolute favorite ponies. I like you, Tia. Be cause of your gentle and warm nature. And you, Lulu, because I can relate to how hard it is to make friends in the real world.”

“In the real world?”

She asked with curiosity. Zemrite nodded.

“I believe it is time I told you two of what I used to be. You see, back in my world, there was a show about you, Lulu, Twi and all the other ponies in this world. It was called ‘My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic’. Of course, you were all regular ponies. On four legs instead of two. That is how I knew you two right from the get-go. Along with Twi and her friends as well. I knew the struggles you both went through. How you had to banish Lulu to the moon, knowing full well it was going to hurt you emotionally in the long run. And how Lulu was so lonely all those one-thousand years on the moon. And when you returned as Nightmare Moon, you hatred was still strong. I know many things about this world. Though things have gone different than what I have seen back in my world as of late. It’s like...you are all the same ponies I know, but the events have gone differently than what I have seen.”

The two princesses blink as he reveals to them his knowledge of not only them but the world as well.

“And believe it or not, there is a human in my world with the name Lauren Faust who created the ponies I know. Just like how your creator is named Faust as well. I used to be a human as well. Though, the longer I am kept in this form..the more of my memories I lose. I don’t even remember what my original body and face look like anymore.”

The two sister sit there quietly, listening to him as he opens up to them. Not asking questions, not talking over him, just listening and being there for him. They realized that this has taken him a while to gather the courage to speak about.

“But in the end...I don’t want to lose my memories of the ponies I watched. I know they aren’t you in the here and now. But they are still you at the same time. Back home when I was a human, I lived a very secluded life. I hardly ever left my home unless it was for work or to go and get food from the store. I have no family.And I pretty much just sat in my home and played video games all day. Or I was being a conspiracy nut. Looking up things about the Illuminati, or area fifty-one. Just things a shut-in like me would do. And now here I am. Sitting with both of you. Something I have never ever thought would have happened in a billion years. Sometimes I think I am still in the dream realm, wondering if I will wake up back in the human world in my bed.”

Celestia brings a gentle hand to Zemrite’s cheek, lightly caressing it.

“Listen to me, Zemrite. You are here now...the past is the past. Leave it all behind and focus on the path ahead. Whatever being sent you here to my sister and I did it for a reason. And you may already know us, but we don’t know you. And the fact that you have been so open with us, revealing these things. Well, it makes me want to know you even more so.”

“I agree with her.You are indeed here for a good reason. And we want you to know. That we are here for you Zemrite. And we always want to be here for you, whatever you need. We owe you that much.”

“Tia...Lulu..thank you, both of you.”

“Come on now. It’s time for a good bath. Let Lulu and I scrub you down”

Zemrite tenses up again.

“N-no...really you don’t have to-.”

“You aren’t getting into the bed with us with blood all over you, silly stallion. We are going to make sure you are nice and clean before we slumber tonight.”

Zemrite gulped hard, it was going to be one hell of a night. But you know what? He didn’t care. He knew they genuinely cared for him, and that is all he needed.