And somewhere, in that darkness, you claw your way back, though death, eternity and time, flinching as you snap awake. Desperately, you try to reach for your abdomen, try and confirm it was still whole, but the chains around your wrists are far too short.

When you are unable to reach it, you take a few sharp breaths. Air enters your lungs without discomfort or difficulty, and you relax a little, slumping down and releasing your tension. Glancing upwards, towards the hole in the roof of the castle. The very roof that you... Imagined you had just died upon.

Imagined? It had felt so real. It was no dream. Or at least, no normal dream. More akin to the ones you had been having since you had arrived in this strange land. But more lucid. More real. More tangible.

A memory? A memory that wasn't yours, and yet was?

Your temple hurts again. You try and sit up, just so your hands can reach your temple, but that is a painful manoeuvre to try, twisting your wrists in an unnatural way as you do so.

A voice breaks the silence and your desperate attempts to move.

Nightmare Moon appears from the shadows and begins to trot towards you, looming over your chained form.
”You were under a longer time than I expected. Had to go out for a bit. Well, Anonymous? Do you see?” She asks.

Do I see?

”Do you remember? What foul trickery you...”

“If that was me, I remember you blasting a hole in my chest. You can hardly blame me for what happened after that," You spit out, full of anger, glaring at the mad goddess again.

She smiles. A foul thing, teeth and malice both on display. She leans closer to you, and for a terrible moment, you fear she will take a chunk out of your face.
"I did not think I would see you here. During my long imprisonment within the moon I was so certain you were dead. I had to console myself with mere revenge against Celestia. But you are here."

You grit your teeth.
“So. You... Was that real?” You ask.

For a moment confusion flashes across her face, but it passes soon enough.
”Yes! I was there! You were there!”

“Yeah. But how the hell was I? An older me, but...” You consider the possibilities, mainly to try and ignore the insane horse with nearly every reason to kill you.
Time Travel? Maybe that was future you?

No. You felt his memories. He had the same as yours before you arrived here, but he did not remember meeting Celestia, at least in the same way. He didn't remember arriving in Twilight's study. He did remember this moment.

He remembered... And you did a little, appearing in the middle of a desert and being taken captive by some Minotaurs, before becoming so invaluable to the dying chief of that tribe he was adopted. That was not you.
Surely it wasn't you.

”It doesn't matter. You are him, deny it as you might!" Nightmare shouts.

You're dragged out of your head-space by those words.
“So what. Are you going to kill me? Again?”

Nightmare Moon roared with laughter, before snarling. ”Hardly. That didn't work last time, did it? No. You will watch the eternal night. There will be no abating this time. That had been my folly. I tried to compromise, but you and the foul Sun imprisoned me for a millennia. So there will be no sunrise.”

Okay. That might be a problem.

“I feel like I've said this before Nightmare Moon. But you will wipe out all life on the planet should you do that," You point out.

"I don't care. You were right. I cannot hold a sword against the throat of the world and demand they love me. They shall never love me. They might fear me, but I can get that easily, and fear is a bitter wine to drink," She explained, trotting around, facing up to look through the same hole in the ceiling you had been looking up at earlier.

"You don't have to do this, Nightmare Moon. You're right, you can't threaten them to love you. But if you stop, return Celestia, end this night... They might forgive you," You plead.

She ignores you, content to simply watch the moon from this empty, ruined castle. You sigh and try one last time to free yourself from these chains.
That fails.

“You know. That... Let's call him another version of me, not that either of us agree that's the case...” You start to say. The Nightmare horse turns to you, confusion etched on her face.

”Are you getting to a point, or do you simply enjoy the sound of your own voice?” She asks sarcastically.

“Little of Column A, little of Column B. Fine, let me start over,” You cough and collect yourself.
“Who are you? What do you want?”
It's your turn to stare. Your turn to challenge a mad goddess. There was probably no backup this time. You were not a delaying tactic for another Goddess to finish her off. As far as you know, it's just you. And her.

She shakes her head.
”I do not need to speak to you. Justify myself to you. You are nothing. You have always been nothing. Except alone," She says haughtily, shrugging you and the question off.

You titter, but sit up straighter. You square your shoulders and speak again.
“Who are you? What do you want?”

She turns back to glare at you, full of anger and loathing at your very existence.
”We are Nightmare Moon. Queen of the Cosmos, Goddess of the night. She of the moon and Shadowed things! We will bring about the eternal night!”

You shake your head, and sit up straighter.
“Who are you? What do you want?”

She grows angrier, trotting towards you. Away from the moonbeams streaming through the ancient ruined ceiling of the great hall. ”We are the last light! We will make Celestia pay for what she did to us! What you did to us!”

You move to stand, ignoring the fury burning on a mad goddesses face and instead focusing on getting back onto your feet. And finally, with your wrists still chained behind your back, you stand eye to eye with a goddess that might destroy you with a thought.
And you challenge her again.
“Who are you. What do you want.”

Her ethereal mane flows behind her, her teeth bared. Her eyes boring into your own.
”And who are you Anonymous? What do you want?”

“I am Anonymous. I want to go home. I don't want to be in this place. My head hurts, I can't sleep, I can't remember... Things. But I just want to go back. More than anything else. There. What about you, Luna?”

”I...”
She pauses. She seems to mull the question over in her mind. Something like regret passes over that mad face. Something like dread.

And then you hear a door open far behind her. The great doors of the hall slam open. The moment is gone, and Nightmare Moon turns, only to kick you solidly in the chest with her back legs. You crumple to the floor, dazed and winded, coughing. Blood splatters against the stones as you do so.

You can barely focus on anything else other than the pain in your chest. Certainly not the six ponies that had arrived to challenge the mad goddess. Certainly not whatever they were blabbering about, or the pieces of stone that broke.
You cough again.

Then things start to get a bit strange.

Well, stranger than everything else that had happened today, which frankly was starting to get ridiculous.
Those six ponies, which included at least one you recognised, then started to levitate or something. You weren't entirely sure, you were pretty sure you had a broken rib right now.

Well, then their eyes started to glow. And that surely could not have been a good thing.

Wait, are they wearing what Celestia was wearing in that...

Something clicks in your head, and you make sure you aren't...
Nope, you are right behind Nightmare Moon. Which meant if she was going to be hit by...

Twilight's horn glows.

Great. A fucking laser beam. Well, you knew it was coming at some point.
“Fuck”
And all becomes white.

You know. You always thought it was going to be a fricken laser beam that would eventually kill you. It happened to that Other you, whatever his deal was. Makes sense it would be your doom too.

Well, let's see what afterlife you got then.

You notice, happily, that the pain in your ribs, around your eye and on your cheek has gone. You aren't dressed in formal white and gold, but in... Well, nothing. Makes sense I guess? Does heaven or hell have a "no shoes, no shirt, no service" policy?

God, you hope not.

Shit, better cut back on the blasphemy.

Making a promise you will in no way keep, you finally decide to take in your surroundings. To your surprise, you seem to be under a duvet...

A familiar one.

It's warm. It's cosy. It's...
Home.

You shoot up out of bed, and it was your bed. You were in the spare room of your parent's house. Blank white walls, a single window. And out of that window, snow was falling. Softly, calmly. Cautiously you make your way out of bed, towards that window, and look outside.

An oak tree stands, covered in snow. Three cars in the driveway. Your parents, and your own. The sun was low, barely there at all. And you were surrounded in a cul-de-sac. You nearly gasp in joy. You were home. Safe. Well, not your house. But your parent's at least. It was better than an ancient decaying castle in an ancient forest with none of your kind around.

Throwing on a dressing gown, you make your way carefully down the stairs.

You still don't know if this is some purgatory, or if some demon was going to jump out and start explaining your ironic hell.

But everything was the same. The landing light wasn't working. The steps creaking far too loud to be reasonable. It felt like home. Looked like home. Even smelt like it.
So why the unease? Why the doubt gnawing at the back of your skull?

You manage to find yourself in the dining room, though you could not say how. Nor how you were dressed. But there they were. Your parents. A warm cooked dinner sitting on the table.
”Nice of you to join us,” Your mum says cheerfully, looking up from her quiet conversation with your dad. She smiles, and you smile back and roll your eyes. Content to ignore that sense of ill-ease, you sit down, between the two opposite ends.

All that stuff about Ponies, and magic, and Mad goddesses and past lives. It had all been a dream. A dream that you had, inside your spare room. Surely it had been. You were here now.

You tuck into the meal, a barely a word passes between the three of you for several minutes as you eat in content silence. Until finally, your dad says something that you cannot quite make out. You turn to him.

“Sorry?” You ask, swallowing a bit of lamb as you do so.

”I said you've got to wake up Anon.”

No. Oh please no.
“Dad. I am awake. Come on. Let's just eat this...” You gesture to the meal.

”You have to wake up. Wake up, and remember. Whether you like it or not," He says calmly, in a voice without a hint of emotion.

You slam your knife and fork onto the table.
“I. Am. Awake. Now... Let's tuck in. Come on Dad. Let's talk about work. Let's share a beer and talk about sports or...” You turn to him. His expression blank. Devoid of life. You shiver slightly and turn desperately to your mother.
“Come on. Mum? We can talk about books? Or how shitty politics are? You can even bug me about grand-kids... Anything?”

Your desperation does nothing to stop their stares. Nothing to help you deny the truth.
“Please. I don't want to go back. I've been there for... So long," You whisper, taking your head into your arms as the cutlery falls onto the table.Your voice is barely above a whisper.
“I'm tired of it.”

You're not entirely sure where that came from, but in some deep, unreachable part of yourself, it was true. You felt so tired.“Please. I don't want to go back," You quietly plead.

But your pleas are met only with silence. The only noise being the ringing within your head, growing steadily louder with every passing second.

Something was wrong with you.
When you woke up, you were going to find out exactly what was going on. But that meant letting go of this place. And going back. You desperately want to say something to your parents. Something to abate their fears. Or maybe your own.

But they are only shadows. Only a memory of a memory.
And you are gone.

You awaken back to pain in your ribs, a black eye, and a cut on your cheek. Sighing quietly to yourself, you shake your wrists, only to finally notice that they were in front of you, not behind, and the chain had been destroyed.

You turn your head towards the centre of the great hall once more, and just as moonlight is slowly replaced by the early dawn rays of the sun, you see a small blue... Unicorn/Pegasus. Wait. Alicorn. That was the word.

It was a tiny thing. At least compared to the only other three you...
Where was Nightmare Moon? Had she been banished to the moon again? That would suck for her.

You move to stand, but your knees are weak, your arms are heavy and there is blood on your shirt already despite how early it was. Before you even have the chance to move, a certain lavender unicorn rushes you.
”Anonymous! Are you all right? Did Nightmare Moon-" She questions, her words trailing off into a whisper towards the end there. Her tone worried, and it doesn't sound like it was about the fact you had a broken rib. ”-Do things to you.”

“No. I am fine. Mostly," You reply honestly as you struggle to stand. Quietly, you thank Twilight as she helps you to your feet. A beam of intense sunlight appears, and you are forced to look away for a second before glancing back.

Celestia has appeared, and the small Alicorn has rushed her for a hug, crying.
Was that tiny thing Luna? The original, and not the Mad Nightmare?

You take a few sharp breaths as the sight before you brings on a thousand thoughts and feelings rushing through you.

Something was wrong with you. Something was going on. You were there a thousand years ago, and you were here now.

And Celestia had known. And had kept completely silent. You narrow your eyes at the Goddess of the Sun, the one you thought you liked, at least.

Just what secrets was that immortal hiding? And worse.
What if she was right to hide them?

But you were in no state to question her now, and interrupting the two sisters hugging one another felt cruel and childish. This was their moment, their time, for now. Regardless of what was going on, regardless of what either may have done to you a thousand years ago, you respected both enough to allow them to hold eachother as sisters for the first time in over a thousand years.

And you needed to go to a hospital, in all truth.

Weeks have passed

It turns out they really were paranoid about your physical state. Something about 'Weak Male constitution' or something. Part of you thinks that it's really to keep you away from Luna, in case either of you gets tempted to kill the other.

Again, at least in her case

You are now almost certain Celestia knows about that version of yourself from a thousand years ago. Whether she knew you knew was not so certain. The tiny alicorn in the rough shape of that Princess you saw in that memory knew you knew.

Honestly, thinking along these lines hurt more than the broken ribs and a black eye. You didn't want to think ill of the woman... Mare that had given you shelter, food, a job and taken time out of busy schedule to help you in this strange world. Thinking ill of her felt like a betrayal.

You elect to keep your mind on the moment, on the here and now, other the past, whether that be a week ago or a thousand years.

Anyway, one bonus of staying in the- Sigh- Horsepital is that you have access to as many sleeping pills as you could possibly need. Sure, you couldn't self medicate, but that was pretty dangerous anyway. Better let the Vets deal with it.

Oh yeah, since you were not one of the prissy pony people, Celestia had brought in the best Veterinarians from across Equestria to look after what only needed a few weeks of sitting carefully and maybe an icepack.

Well, maybe a cast.
You were pleased to learn the Pony vets of this world did not do what human vets did to horses who broke bones. You would hope that dying once was enough for one lifetime, as strange thought and sentence as that were.

Anyway, there was only so much- Sigh- Horsepital food you could stomach. It had been hard enough to eat at the Castle, where you could at least eat meals for griffon diplomats, but here it was nuts, berries, veg and jelly.

As if you needed to be any skinnier.

Anyway, today your cast was being taken off. Only a few more days in this place and you'd be... Probably back to work.

Well, all good... Mediocre things must come to an end. This end was the arrival of a nurse pony carrying in her telekinetic grip a fucking nasty looking buzzsaw. ”All right Mr Anonymous. Hold your breath and try not to exhale. We don't want to cut your chest open," said the nurse, the slightest evil look in her eyes as she brought the thing towards the chest cast.

"Please be gentle, it's my first time," You anxiously whisper. She titters just as the buzzsaw starts to rev up. You hold your breath just a little bit harder. Sucking in your gut as much as possible, now thankful for the rather severe weightloss you had gone through in your hospital stay so far.

She starts to cut open the cast near your groin, and you wince until the saw is long past your abdomen. Well, it's still getting close to your head, but you take the good with the bad in life. You lean your head back and close your eyes as the Buzz-saw makes the final run up your chest. The sawing stops and the saw is held away from you, and you let out the breath you were holding.

Sitting up in the bed, you scratch your chest at long last after two weeks of having to use a sharp stick or one of the nurses.

Oh god it feels good to get at that itch

You chance a look down onto your chest.
A blue and black bruise blotches your skin a few ribs below your heart, but the pain is only a minor discomfort compared to the broken rib. It will likely be smooth and raw for a while, but hopefully the worst of the chest pain is over. You doubt you'll go through anything nearly that painful again.

”Will that be all?" The nurse asks in a tone you... Don't want to think overly hard on. No the slightly lowered eyelids and wry smirk on her lips.

"As good as you were, I'm not sure I want to risk that saw again," You joke, deliberately ignoring the context of the question. She chuckles. If she was annoyed or offended by your answer, she certainly didn't show it.

"Few do. It's the stallions with hip casts that you ought to be sorry for. A friend of mine once slipped with her telekinesis and..." The Nurse unicorn begins to explain in a cheery voice. You cough in surprise and raise your hand in a gesture she probably doesn't quite understand means "pls stop"

"That's, uh, terrifying. Thanks again anyway," You say, forcing a smile as you sit up slightly in the bed.

"Anytime. Well, I mean, you know that I mean 'anytime that you happen to get your chest carved open' and not 'I'm going to make that happen' I hope..." She awkwardly explains. A genuine smile grows on your face as the unicorn continues to try and backtrack and make it clear that she will not be the one injuring you.

You tell that you understand, say no hard feelings and wave to the nurse as she leaves the room. As she does so, the room seems darker without her in it. And with that darkness came the same thoughts again. What was going on? Why were you here? Who was that man a thousand years ago?

But still, you try and force yourself to go to sleep, to slip away into unconsciousness, taking a few sleeping pills to aid the process. You can only hope that your sleep shall be dreamless, as your dreams continue to get... Worse and worse.

Author's Note

Yeah, really sorry about this one. As I said in the comments, I got hit by a car a few weeks back and ended up in hospital myself for a bit, which made editing this bit really ironic. Anyway, the plot thickens, hope you enjoy. Next chapter will be out much, much sooner.