A Glimmer of Hope: Reborn

“Luna… why don’t you want to talk about him? We both saw him, he was smiling, he’s coming back to us.”

The older princess stayed silent, trying to ignore her former marefriend. The fact she still seemed more excited than hurt was what kept her from speaking out. It made her feel like she was holding onto a grudge, guilty for being obstinate, but she had her reasons. She strode to the other side of the ship, watching the clouds go by.

Twilight let out a sigh of defeat. She wished she could help Luna, but without even Celestia knowing why her sister was acting this way, there was no path to closure. Wiping away a stray tear she went below deck, to see what the others were up to.

“It sure has become windy as of late,” Chrysalis commented, trying to keep her mane out of her eyes.

“Yeah, I guess the group is traveling by air.”

“... Why did you let her go?”

The question made Nick pause, confused at first by what she meant by the question. Recalling though, what exactly Chrysalis had done to him when they were both alive, he realized just who "her" was. He just gave the queen a quizzical expression.

“I-I didn’t mean to pry,” Chrysalis lowered her head, feeling ashamed for bringing up a rather sensitive subject. “I was just… when I took her form, I could sense a flurry of emotions from the first time we ‘met’. Being able to see into your memories-”

“It was because I felt like an imposter,” Nick cut her off, deciding to nip this in the bud. Considering they saved each other's lives, he figured they had bonded some, the current topic just further fortifying it. “Yes one of the reasons that I said goodbye to Sabrina was so she could pursue her happiness, but even during our relationship together, I … never felt like I deserved her.”

Chrysalis was silent as he shared his emotions, almost shocked he was willing to be this open with her but grateful. In a way, it allowed her to see more into the facets of love other than being a food source.

“It’s kind of like now how I feel with Twilight and Luna…”

“How so?”

“Well, I’m sure if I hadn’t come here due to saving the world, maybe just as a regular pony, there’s no way I would have even approached them, let alone form a relationship with them. I'd be a commoner, probably just trying to fit in and keeping a low profile. It would be like back on earth, I was a face in the crowd, a nobody, all but forgettable. I was given a new chance at life here, despite the irony in that statement. And I fucked it all up. And now,” he stopped, the look of Twilight’s surprised face at seeing him for that brief moment flashing into his memory. “I don’t know if I could face them.”

“Well if they are willing to risk their lives to bring you back, obviously that has to have some love for you still.”

“Yeah, but first of all, it’s just Twilight risking her life I'm sure. Luna I hurt so deeply I doubt she's getting involved and I wouldn’t blame her if she didn’t want me back. And again, it’s because I’m the ‘chosen hero’ that they’re doing so. How do I know if I can prove my worth to them? Will they even stick around after all of this? I don’t even know if I’m going to have to sacrifice myself again.”

Chrysalis hummed at the wolf’s lack of confidence, definitely something she was not used to seeing. Recalling what he did for her when she felt unsure about facing the cyclops again, she placed a hoof on his shoulder, causing him to look at her. “From my time with you, both living and dead, I figure you’ll find a way back into their hearts. You should give yourself a bit more credit Nick.”

As he smiled at the gesture, snow began to fall, along with the surrounding temperature getting colder.

“Guess the Frozen North is our next stop.”

“So once we rendezvous with Cadance, we’ll find out the information she has obtained and move from there,” Celestia announced, looking at Twilight and her friends. “And there will be close supervision on you all. We cannot afford to lose any of you.”

The group certainly wasn’t happy with the new change of plans, but the two sisters could easily rival the power they had. Normally they were too busy with the politics of Canterlot to be as micromanaging of their missions, but as Celestia had said earlier, these were different times. The whole Storm King invasion brought that to their attention. It would be easier to just cooperate for now and trust in their judgement.

“We be landing in the Crystal Empire in the morning, best ye get some shut eye before we arrive,” one of the pirate crew announced to the group with a squawk.

Realizing how exhausted they were from the previous battle, the group decided some sleep wouldn’t have been a bad idea.

As Twilight headed to her room, she noticed a small glowing blue spark, just floating in front of her. The others didn’t see it, as they walked past her without blinking an eye, except for Luna, who also observed it. The two mares looked at each other, and as they did, the spark began to move to the topside of the ship. They had a feeling it was linked to Nick, and as such Twilight immediately followed after it. Luna, despite her emotions regarding the wolf, figured it would be best to investigate as well.

A full moon greeted them as they stepped on the landing, serene clouds lazily dotting the skies around them. The spark gently floated in the middle of the deck, as if expecting them. Luna took a deep breath, bracing herself and hoping to maybe confront the wolf with her emotions.

A small flash of light brought him to them. He was the same color and transparency as the spark, although differing shades helped contrast his new markings. The two were awestruck, unsure what to say or do, but Nick helped them with that.

His head turned towards the floor, a tear sliding down his cheek. “I’m sorry.”