When Ivy came to, she noticed she was on the ground, with a small fog covering what she assumed was the floor. Despite her body being sensitive to temperature change, she couldn’t feel anything different. As she looked around she noticed that somehow the tyrant king had been knocked back unconscious. With the immediate threat taken care of for now, she looked around for his combatant, finding the wolf laying on his side, back to her.

“Nick! Get up!” Ivy slithered over to him, trying to assess how badly hurt he was. She checked his breathing, which other than ragged at times was fine, and nothing felt broken. She tried to pick him up, which wasn’t as easy as she thought as he was way heavier than he looked. Once he was secured though she backed away from Sombra’s dazed body, although not seeing anywhere to go.

“I can’t fight him by myself,” she worried, reaching into her pouch for some supplies. Finding a tonic that her own Twilight had given her in her universe, she gave it to Nick. As the liquid began to trickle down his throat, she could feel him twitch and shudder. All she could do was hope it wasn’t an adverse reaction.

“Are… you trying to poison me?” she heard him gag, shaking his head from what she assumed was the taste in his mouth. “Gah… what is that stuff.”

“You’re alive!” Ivy cheered, hugging his fluffy body.

“Well technically I’m dead,” he joked, thankful that the woman appeared just in time. “You must be Ivy, from what Rainbow Dash told me.”

“Yep! The one and only!” the woman giggled, twirling in a circle. “It’s so nice to finally meet you Nick!”

“Likewise, thanks for saving me… I’d ask how you got here but…” he looked over to Sombra, who seemed to have started regaining consciousness. “I think we have a villain to finish off.”

“Y-yeah,” Ivy temporarily trembled, looking at the dark king, memories flooding her mind. “You lead the charge and I’ll provide backup,” she determined, readying an arrow from her quiver.

“Sounds good,” he smiled at her and began to run off. Having experienced her combat prowess when fighting the cyclops, he had full faith in her abilities. However seeing as he had just received a reinforcement, perhaps what Sombra was saying in his removal of Chrysalis was true. He seemed to be dependent on others to come and save him. If so, how could he be called a hero if he wasn't strong enough to fight on his own. Despite if that was the case or not, he wondered who took the queen and was she still ok?

He was quickly getting closer and closer to Sombra’s body. While he could have finished him off, he did remember the stallion’s mention of joining them if they beat him. Perhaps he was ready to negotiate peace.

The evil king arose to his hooves, looking at his new adversary. He grunted in annoyance and turned away from the pair. “It seems there’s always someone to come and save you Nick. I wonder how long that will last till you’re all ALONE…” Before Nick could respond to the verbal attack, the king of darkness vanished into thin air.

The wolf searched the area carefully, preparing for a sneak attack from Sombra. Ivy as well scanned their surroundings, not sensing anything out of place. After a few minutes of waiting and nothing happening, the two regrouped, unsure of what was next.

“D-do you think he’s coming back?” the lamia asked her canine companion, worry spreading through her body.

“He was never really easy to read in his intentions or actions,” Nick sighed, sitting down and catching his breath. “He always seemed one step ahead of me, more deceptive than…” he grew silent, thinking about the other villain he had befriended.

As if reading his thoughts, Ivy inquired about the changeling queen next. “I thought you and Chrysalis were travelling together.”

“We were… but she disappeared just before Sombra showed up. I don’t know where she is or if she’s ok.”

“Oh I see,” Ivy spoke softly, seeing as Chrysalis’ loss had affected Nick. She wondered just what was the relationship between the two, or perhaps he was just lonely so that's why he had bonded with her. No matter the reason, she was now his traveling companion and if she was stuck inside this purgatory indefinitely, she might as well learn everything she could about him.

“Where did you come from?” the wolf asked after a bit of a pause, his curiosity finally sparking. “How are Twilight and Luna? What happened to them?”

“Well, we found you inside a mirror in the Crystal Empire, the castle specifically. Your battle with Sombra was displaying for whatever reason. I know this sounds crazy but my crystal talked to me about rescuing you. Before I knew it I was firing an arrow at the mirror, which teleported me inside and I showed up to help you. And Twilight and Luna are fine, worried a bit about you, but I'm sure they'll be relieved to see us all fine now.”

The wolf nodded in understanding, considering everything that was happening it wasn’t too unbelievable. However knowing now that he was just being watched earlier, and almost defeated as well that to add, he grew a bit self conscious. With his actions now being watched, as far as he knew, he had to act a bit differently than he had with Chrysalis.

“So, I guess the best thing to do next is to find you a way out of here,” Nick spoke, looking for anything in the otherwise bleak horizon.

“You don’t want me to stay?” she asked in a hurt tone, feeling unwanted.

“It’s not really that,” he quickly countered, not trying to offend his new companion. “It’s just that the sooner we find what we’re looking for… the sooner I get to see Twilight and Luna again…”

“Oh I get it,” Ivy smiled softly to him. “They still love you very much, and I’m sure you all will find a way to be happy again.”

“I appreciate the sentiment,” he smiled back at her, looking towards the expansive barren landscape. “Ready?”

Finding new resolve and nocking an arrow onto her bow she nodded. “Let’s get you home.”

Author's Note

And as promised here's another chapter! Hope you enjoy and feel free to like, comment or follow!