To Save our Legacy

I felt Alex tense under me. No, better yet… I felt him freeze under my coat, as cold and lifeless as an empty hearth out of nowhere. His arms, previously hugging me gently against his larger frame, tightened around me like a python, making my breath hitch in my throat from the suddenness of the gesture and forcing out the butterflies fluttering in my tummy at his closeness.

I’d listened mindfully at him retelling his journey, as he’d promised us he’d do. I felt that I knew him well enough to tell that he was sadly downplaying or omitting some of the stuff that happened out there. Knowing the mental strife it’d meant for him, however, I reasoned I shouldn’t pressure him into becoming dismissive or outright defensive. After that previous night’s breakdown in my hooves, a sense of constantly walking on eggshells underscored any exchange I’d later had with him, a feeling that I wanted nothing more than to be rid of.

Still, he’d relived his memories and shared them with us with bravery, highlighting with an abundance of details about how a perilous place the outside world had become in our sheltered existence, and how, to my utmost disappointment, not all creatures embraced the values that we ponies in the three cities had come to rediscover and accept.

I’d have some words with the mayor to make absolutely sure Gaius was welcomed as one of us, and that nopony, under any circumstances, was to try anything nasty with him, or as Faust is my witness I’d… I’d do something unspeakable to that pony.

The time for the climax of the story seemed to be approaching fast. In the moment of truth, however, my human’s mood had done a complete one-eighty in the shake of a pony’s tail. I could feel his heartbeat going wild against my back in time with small tremors traveling down the length of his arms and legs, the fuzzy little hairs covering them standing on end. You would’ve thought he’d just sat over a live electrical wire!

He suddenly felt cold. So, so cold…

Something was wrong.

“Honey…?” I nudged my colt… boyfriend with my snout, twisting my neck to get a better look at his fastly blanching visage. Something was going on with him, severing the thread of the story as it seemed to eat away at him on the inside; once again, I didn't know how to help him, not without knowing what it was!

“Alex?” Seeing my attempts yielding no response from him, Izzy was the next to try, filing her playful banter with Gaius away for later to switch her attention to the quivering human. She was met with the same void expression. Alex was lost somewhere, far, far away from us, taking his warmth and spirit with him. His shaking did nothing but worsen the longer the silence dragged on. Meanwhile, a knot was tightening in my stomach, a flashback from the previous night spiking another bout of anxiety in me.

Was was happening right now? Was he suffering another nervous crisis? Or was it something else? What was wrong with my human?!

“Alex! Baby, answer me!” I twirled in his lap, breaking his hold on me and shaking my human hard, but my efforts changed nothing, only ghostly eyes remaining that seemed to peer into the infinite. I felt a jolt in my flanks where his hands had loosely ended up. As his eyes narrowed to pinpricks and his breathing became raspy, I paid only half a mind to it and found my cutie marks glowing steadily, just as I’d seen happen to my friends every now and again, a phenomena none of us fully understood, but we’d tagged it as non-concerning since nothing bad came has resulted from it.

My cutie marks glowing were not what sold my attention, however; His gloved hands’ uncovered fingers twitched erratically against my coat, the gems in his gauntlets firing up. But instead of a warm and caring glow, his gems spewed dark, short-lived tendrils of magic, followed closely by dark-purple sparks of unchecked energy. Not enough to harm me in any way, but clearly lacking conscious control.

I sensed a memory trying to barge into my mind. I’d seen it happen to his gauntlets before, but where…?

“S-S-Sunny?”

The quivering whimper came from Izzy, who I’d found on her way to losing her wits over something. Her horn was glowing with a soft aura, her frightened eyes wavering like a leaf with an image only her special ability could paint for the unicorn.

Whatever it was that my bestie could see, it was thoroughly spooking her. “Izzy, what’s happening to him?!” I demanded a bit forcefully for my liking, but the escalating situation was dire. I pressed myself against my mate, trying to bring back some measure of warmth to him against the ice that now coursed through his veins.

“S-S-Sparkle…” Was the only thing Izzy returned in a stuttering mess, keeping her analysis as she too froze all on her pillow.

“What?” Pipp interceded, jumping on her hooves to reach us, her sister following in tow while Hitch remained behind us to hold a still-distracted Sparky in his lap. “What do you mean ‘S-S-Sparkle’?” She tried to pry Izzy, taking a spot on the free space over the couch’s rim right beside Alex. Rearing up on her hindlegs, she nuzzled Alex’s face, trying to rouse him.

Not even a flicker of life from him.

‘What do I do what do I do what do HOW CAN I HELP HIM, FAUST?!’

“I’m sensing a l-l-luminescence inside him…” Izzy clarified with visible hesitation, powering up her horn a notch to pry further into Alex, only to recoil back with a startle, as if having burned herself baking some cupcakes. “S-S-So cold…” She hugged herself with a full-body tremor.

Things were looking worse by the second, for I too had felt the cold taking over him.

“Sparkle? Wasn’t he supposed to lack one?” Zipp recalled our very first group meeting when we learned he was lacking the natural connection to Equus’ magic that all ponies shared, painting him as a ‘void’ in Izzy’s gifted vision.

It couldn't belong to him then, for I was positive that, if he’d somehow developed his own natural magic while we spoke, it would feel as warm and inviting as the rest of ours. It wouldn't have petrified Izzy so badly!

Something was inside my human. Something was doing him harm! But what?!

“Take it out!” I blurted out the first notion of a plan that came to mind. “Izzy! Take that luminescence out of him!!”

A bold idea, but sadly unachievable. “I-It doesn’t work like that, Sunny!” Izzy barked back, fighting through the chill that’d overtaken her to try again with Alex, this time with more strength. “Alex! You have to wake up!! Please!!” Izzy cried with watery eyes while pulling hard on his arm.

Alex remained a statue. A quickly crumbling statue.

“Gaius!” I searched for the only reliable source of information still present. “What happened to him out there?!! Help us!!” I begged the griffon, taking the assumption that whatever was ailing Alex had something to do with what he’d experienced out there.

The poor griffon, having remained on the sidelines without a hint as to what to do, could only shrug his feathery shoulders, nervously toying with his tail while obviously fearing for Alex, but clueless nonetheless.

“I-I dön’t knowink! He vas vine in Reise!”

I was running out of options. I felt Alex’s muscles tense up under me, and his breathing became more ragged the longer whatever battle was being waged in his mind went on.

I was losing him, right in front of my very eyes. I felt powerless. I was powerless. My alicorn magic was useless in this scenario, for I didn’t possess the necessary knowledge to cast a spell to help him or… or something!

“Honey, please! Please,tell me what’s wrong! I’m right here!”

I couldn't physically hug him harder as I cursed my uselessness. Memories of us in that clearing during our first trip to Canterlot, another of our final confrontation with Discord in that lava cave, when I stood on the sidelines like a rotten log, unable to do anything for my friends.

I couldn't help him. I couldn’t help my coltfriend! I was useless, and I was gonna lose him, this time for good!

“Baby, p-please…” Bitter tears stung my eyes as I buried my face in his chest, praying with all my might for the answer that I needed, for the cure that would help my Alex.

… Nopony answered.

Our friends remained close, but no clue as to how to help him sparked in any of them. Sparky, the conundrum too much for his young mind to ignore, mewled in Hitch’s lap, feeling how something was very wrong with Alex.

“Shhh, it will be alright, Sparky. Alex’ll be… He’ll be alright.”

Hitch’s poor attempt to convince himself didn’t help in raising my hopes. The sisters ran possibility after possibility, with Zipp’s detective wits taking the lead. I felt the world slip away until there was only me and my human, drowning myself in worry and frustration.

I heard his heartbeat as if it were my own, his chest straining to take life-giving air into his lungs, his twitchy limbs trembling with uncontrolled spasms.

“Pleasepleasepleaseplease answer me! Honey, answer me, please! Tell me what I need to do…”

…

…

…

‘-EAD BECAUSE OF YOU!!’

An all-compassing force dragged me back into the present, taking the air from my lungs in the process.

My friends also suffered from the recoil, its origin uncertain, but its purpose unmistakable. It was wrong. It felt so wrong during the millisecond it lasted.

“G-Guys?! Guys! What was tha-”

Another force enveloped me. This one, however, was far from cold and unforgiving, filling me with an unparalleled sense of warmth and… purpose.

No, not a purpose. A command.

‘W-What’s happening?!’

My cutie marks burned on my flanks, shining with the strength of the midday sun, winning the attention of everypony, and griffon, present.

A change in the air, a levity in the room, a static current making my fur stand on end. I could taste it. It was… part of me.

I heard her in my mind.

By my will, Hope.

I obeyed.

Something took control of my body. My vision flashed in a swirling rainbow, my poor human’s chocolate eyes lighting up the same. An instinct overtook me, and I heeded it. I was up in his lap in the blink of an eye and I smashed my lips against him with enough force to almost push the both of us to the floor through the back of the couch. My wings and horn had appeared at their usual places, but I was so absorbed in… whatever was taking over me that I paid them no mind. I wouldn't need them for this.

The force, the instinct, burned in my heart with unparalleled vigor. A wisp of magic was born in me, turning into a waterfall that flooded into Alex, whatever spell that’d taken hold of him breaking the moment our lips met, returning some semblance of life into his eyes.

Gravity dragged us down while the air around us became charged with magic, almost enough that I could feel it dance on the edges of my coat.

I didn't understand what was going on. It didn't care. It happened so fast. But I needed to help him. I wouldn't stand still while I lost the love of my life.

The ponies, having jumped back with the suddenness of my action, could only watch in awe at us. The rainbow light encompassed us, fueling the magic I was pouring into Alex. It was a hypnotic occurrence that bewitched all creatures present before the entire lighthouse was shaken all around us, right down to its foundations. Just like the day I met him, a nova of harmonious magic erupted from the Unity Crystals, swallowing the bay in its wavy aurora.

I felt stronger than ever before, filled with resolve. I would help my human. He was important, his well-being was imperative, the continuity must be ensur-

‘Wait…’

As suddenly as it’d come, this foreign-yet-familiar presence pulled back, taking with it the rainbow glow swirling in my vision, as well as those thoughts that weren't mine but sought to leave my muzzle.

I broke the kiss and pulled back with a gasp, my chest tightening under the deep absence of… something. The juice coursing through my veins drained away with the same celerity as my startle, leaving me as dog-tired as if I was just finishing the annual Kenbucky Roller Derby.

Blinking hard to erase the spots in my vision, I found the other ponies pressed hard against the floor, forelegs over their heads, fearing that the place would come crashing down on us. Gaius had taken flight out of the nearest window out of instinctual fear, while Izzy had been knocked down from her spot on the couch to crash on her back in a very compromising position.

The sole focus of my attention remained on Alex, who suffered from the same aftereffects I was experiencing. Finding his breathing again, he took greedy gulps of air while squeezing his eyes shut. His hands flew to his temples, pressing hard on them like the day he’d ended up with a massive headache after practicing for too long with his magic.

“Alex? A-Alex!! Baby, are you alri-GAH!”

In an unexpected gesture, my human sent his gloved hands down to clenched fists, gems humming in power before a telekinetic wave pushed me out of his lap and down on my rump on the cold floor, crashing against a recovering Izzy whom I dragged back down in a pile of fur and limbs.

Zipp was back in the game enough to rush to our aid, her sister hiding behind the rim of the couch in a fit of hyperventilation. Hitch was securing his baby dragon on the other sofa, shielding him with his frame while the poor drake mewled loudly in stress.

Shaking my head hard, my frazzled rainbow streak peeked down over my dancing vision. I was hoofed up to a seated arrangement thanks to Zipp, fighting and failing to recover my bearings.

“Sunny! Are you alright?” The alabaster pegasus asked in a hurry while helping Izzy in turn.

“Oooow, too many moonshine shots…” Izzy gurgled to nopony, seemingly still not all the way back with us.

I answered Zipp with a shaky nod, feeling my dancing thoughts reeling from the shock of that telekinetic wave.

Alex barged into my thoughts again the moment I could formulate them properly. I tried to rear myself up on my hooves, but the drain from that experience proved too much too soon to overcome, making me flop down on my muzzle the moment I tried to take a step.

Alex entered my field of vision down in my unceremonious spot, but it seemed I wasn't in his. With limbs still jelly-like and narrowed pupils darting everywhere, I saw him come back to the waking world by quickly patting himself all over his pants before fishing something out of one of the pockets under his butt, taking a firm hold of it, or at least as firm as his trembling grasp could muster.

The object was unfamiliar to me. It seemed cylindrical in shape, not much bigger than the hand holding it. The tips had a flat end, with tiny orifices carved on each. One of them was loosely painted in red, while the other, the one facing up, was in light blue. Something was also scribbled along its surface, but the letters were too small and cluttered for me to make anything out of them.

The hand holding the strange object was shaking twice as hard as the rest of him. Alex fixed on it with a glimmer I couldn't quite put my tongue on it, but it struck me as a blissfully terrified one.

‘What is tha-?’

Before I could finish formulating my question, Alex craned his neck sideways, exposing a good chunk of it against which he pressed the blue end of the device. As my eyes widened and dread tore at my chest, he pressed down on some unseen mechanism, and the unmistakable sound of something sharp flying out and burying into his soft skin made my ears go flat on my head.

Alex bit down a cry and soldiered through the apparent sting, which only lasted a moment until he pulled back, the device leaving a red spot on his neck which thankfully didn’t seem to be bleeding. His arm lost all semblance of strength, dropping down on the cushions as the device rolled out of his hand to clatter against the floor and roll away beyond my sight.

Letting out one long, pained wheeze, Alex crashed back against the couch’s back pillows, slipping a bit forward on his butt before becoming very still.

My wings and horn had abandoned me. I stood up on jellied legs and returned to his side. Climbing up the free space on the couch, I searched for any indications of harm on the wilting human. I was on the brink of a nervous crisis of my own as I ran a full-body scan on him with my eyes. Since I didn't have my bestie's gifted vision, I could only use my plain, earth pony senses to find any traces of harm. I didn't smell any blood, nor did I find any signs of damage beyond the few scars that peeked out from under his sweaty clothes.

Those I could smell; the sweat had seemingly poured in bucketloads out of him, drenching his clothes with a potent musk. I couldn’t imagine what kind of stress he was under to have suffered from such a strain in such a short amount of time, almost as if he were suffering from the Queen of All Fevers. But, his body wasn’t shaking anything like a strong fever would provoke, thank Faust.

On a similar note, that weird, haunting glow in his gauntlets had disappeared, leaving them somewhat smokey and singed, but everything otherwise in place. The hands wearing them hadn’t suffered any damage as far as I could see.

I took one and nuzzled it with all my might, not reining back my protective instincts as I shed the stress with a long sigh. I had to hold his hand against my cheek, his fingers not reacting to my touch.

A pony passing by would’ve thought he was simply taking a nap, and for a moment I’d have believed it too if he hadn't scared the fur out of me when he suddenly and explosively returned to the world of the living with a startle, opening his eyes and bending upward from his awkward, slumped position with a gasp, almost sending me flying out of his lap yet again. His arms won the race against gravity, taking a hold around my back and securing me in place.

The rest of the ponies sans Hitch assembled around us, with Izzy powering up her horn as she searched for any trace of the presence that’d thrown my human for the loop of the century.

“I-It’s alright, Izzy,” Alex suddenly addressed the unicorn, as if reading her intentions, squeezing his eyes shut and cracking his jaw, rubbing his face vigorously and nursing a lingering throb in his temples. “It’s gone…”

‘Gone? What’s gone?!’

Izzy, thrilled with the return of his voice, kept the spell going for a bit longer until she was positive that was indeed the case. Once she was sure of her screening results, she flashed me a nod of confirmation before climbing up to her previous spot at his side, pressing hard against his frame and sharing her warmth with the recovering human.

“Thanks, fluffybutt,” Alex appreciated her concern, rubbing the unicorn's side before another wave of pain struck his temples. “Fuck! That was a strong one...”

“Alexander,” Zipp butted in, taking to the air and hovering above us. She brushed the nursing hand away from his brow and grabbed Alex’s head to make deadly sure he was looking into her eyes, upside down as they were. “By my crown, if you don’t tell me right now what the BUCK that was all about…!!”

“Zipp!” I cried out before I could catch myself, her harshness far from welcome.

“It’s alright, Tangerine,” Alex waved a hand dismissively. “I just… I just need a-Gah!” Another sharp sting made him escape Zipp’s forceful hold, the pegasus recoiling back before landing back on her hooves.

Pipp wanted to add something for herself, but as she was about to rise on her hooves, her left rear leg stomped over a slippery thing that almost made her lose her balance. Peering down, she’d found that cylindrical device Alex had dropped. With a wing, she held it in front of her and clenched an eye shut in concentration, reading down the small inscription across its length. Taking her phone from its wing holster, she launched into a search with a frenetic tapping of her forehooves.

I was over Alex the moment a new pang of pain made him fold like a napkin.

“Alex! W-What's wrong?! Where does it hurt?!” I asked him with a shaky voice, fussing over him with countless nuzzles, showering him with love while I waited for him to recover.

“I… I just…” He panted under my caressing, not shying away but lacking the energy to reciprocate. “I just need a minute, Tangerine. I’ll… ugh.”

I felt him slump down on me, forcing me to secure my forelegs against his shoulders and push us back up with a grunt. Zipp was quick to aid me, moving the cushions up to better support his neck before she waited while perched over the couch’s rim, running her snout exploratorily on a quick search, coming back with the same results as I had.

“He looks fine to me, Sunny,” Zipp informed us briefly, a feather coming to scratch under her chin in thought. “But, what in Tartarus was that?! Did you all feel that?! I-It felt like… like so…” Zipp lacked the words to describe the experience.

“It felt cold…” Izzy finished for Zipp, peering up upside down to the pegasus before returning to Alex, a shadow of dread still clinging to her saddened orbs. “I-I almost thought it’d come after me when I touched it with my magic! I-It was… It was wrong!”

“That was… reckless of you, Izz,” Alex droned in a raspy voice, making the unicorn flinch.

Wrong was an apt way of putting it. Alien and unwelcome too. I prayed I’d never have to stumble upon it ever again. And, more importantly, that it wouldn't target my mate as long as I stood watch.

But if I was to protect Alex, I first needed to know.

Using his shoulders as leverage, I closed the distance and planted a soft kiss on his lips, careful not to upset his labored breathing while he finished resurfacing. A few seconds passed until I felt him push back with newfound vigor, his arms once more enveloping me, raking over my coat and kneading my sore muscles.

I lost myself in the bliss for as long as I could make it last, tasting his lips against mine and sneaking my tongue in when I noticed his invitation. Uncaring of the public advertising their gazes with a flush, I’d heal my human out of sheer kisses if that’s what it took.

Three minutes passed, perhaps an eternity, lost in our mutual dance, before I felt him push back gently. Burning crimson, this time for good, Alex cracked his eyes open slowly, like every morning I’d wake up beside him. A familiar tickling sent a shiver down my spine when his fingers found that sweet spot behind my ear, turning me into putty in his arms.

“I’m alright, sweetie. I’m fine,” He whispered. “I’m fine, thanks to you.”

I needed to hear it from him, and the moment I did, I felt like I could finally let go of my apprehension. Releasing a thrilled sigh of my own, I hummed under his ministrations, parking my questions for later and making sure everypony else would follow suit until I’d had my fill.

“Hitch,” Alex spoke to the stallion over my scalp. “Take Sparky upstairs to my room, okay? This is definitely not for him.”

Hitch, having uncocooned himself from around Sparky once the worst had passed, heeded Alex’s request without complaint and took the still-bothered drake for a ride on his back up the ramps.

With the youngest of us out of the fray, Alex felt he had enough strength to at least formulate a somewhat solid explanation around what had taken possession of him and turned him into a ghost of himself to the brink of giving us a heart attack. Or so we thought.

“Sorry about the tumble, baby. Was in a bit of a hurry,” Pushing down with his hands on the pillows, he straightened up in his seat with a wince before returning them over the small of my back, right over my tail. “I’ll explain, but first, I… I need to finish my story before… uh,” Alex searched around for a moment before returning a quizzical look. “Where’s Gaius?”

“I think he took off,” Zipp answered Alex, pointing with a wing towards the opened window, barely big enough for the griffon to have slipped through, but leaving a few loose feathers on its frame.

Straining his neck to look behind him, a mask of sympathy fell over his features. “Shit… Poor guy. Seems I’m only good for scaring creatures out of their minds nowadays, huh?”

That bout of self-deprecation was far from welcome at this time, but before I could chew my human out for it, he sighed deeply and promised he’d patch things up with Gaius later.

“Mmmph,” Exhaling out his nostrils, Alex wetted his lips, ready to thread the last ebbs of the tale. “Okay. This is gonna sound absolutely insensitive and stone-hearted as fuck of me, but I need to get it out fast before I slip up again.”

“Slip up again?” I couldn't help but ask. Waving his hand in a ‘for later’ gesture, Alex addressed all ponies present, since Hitch had only just returned from tucking in Sparky for an impromptu nap.

“That morning, when we reached the Hive, I told Gaius to wait for me at the edge of the cliff before I went in solo. I found no ‘ling standing guard, so I thought it was simply deserted,” A shadow darkened his eyes but Alex pushed on. “I went inside and up to the throne room. Chrysalis got the jump on me. I… I tried to fight her, but she indeed wanted to talk. She…” I felt his pulse quicken against my chest, mine answering in turn as I tightened my hold on him.

My human pressed on. “She showed me where the changelings were. She… T-They…” Swallowing down a sob, a lone tear rolled down his cheek. He needed to press on. He wouldn't stop, out of fear that he’d break down again. “They h-held on as long as they could… Fuck. Thorax made sure of it, but… Fucking Hell! With everypony hating everycreature they… there wasn't any love to go around and… and, the changelings had vowed to never fall all back into the old ways. They… They’re all dead.”

The air became still, thick as molasses, as we processed what Alex had just revealed. Sharing looks of astonishment, we couldn’t believe the words that’d come from his mouth.

“Dead?” Izzy echoed in a whimper.

Almost as if she’d been a ghost, Izzy’s question flew over my human’s head as his eyes glazed over with a flood of memories; painful, soul-wrenching memories.

And still, my human pressed on with clenched teeth.

“I could… I could still hear them in the Over Hive. They were in pain, so hungry, they… They blamed me, asking me why I’d abandoned them. I… I didn’t-mngg!” Another jab him shut his eyes tight and balled his hands into fists, the free one climbing up to bump against his brow repeatedly, almost as if he were physically trying to pound the visions out of his head.

“Stop!” I cried in alarm, reaching for his fist and bringing it to my chest to avoid any further self-harming. “That’s enough, Alex. You don’t have to…”

“You deserve to know!” He cut me off, bloodshot eyes glaring at me for a second before softening back in desolation. “Fuck, I… Chrysalis wanted to show me; she wanted me to know that it was my fault before she… S-She wanted to be back with her children. I granted her wish and burned the place behind me. I… I couldn’t l-leave them, I… Oh, Occellus, I’m so sorry… Faust, I-I’m so sorry…”

Alex broke down completely, plummeting his brow over my scalp as bitter sobs rocked his body. His tears stained my mane and dribbled down my fetlocks.

Occellus. I knew that name from his stories, of his days in Ancient Equestria. She was a changeling student of the School of Friendship, an egghead of her own, according to his memories. Alex had found a kindred spirit in her eagerness to learn about the world and involve herself in as many fields of study as her young mind could fit, all for the betterment of her brothers and sisters back in the hive, under the leadership of the reformed Thorax, who’d chosen her personally to represent the changelings in the school. A promising creature.

It made sense in retrospect. Changelings needed love as sustenance, and that didn’t change after they severed ties with their former Queen, and ‘rehatched’ as a product of it. What changed in them was how they approached their need to feed on love, embracing the act of sharing rather than stealing. Becoming involved with the other creatures of Equus and earning said love instead of abducting unsuspicious ponies and draining them until they had nothing left to give.

Ponykind had their weapons against each of the respective tribes. If hate was so deeply ingrained in their hearts that they saw their relative ponies as a threat, I couldn’t imagine how they must’ve regarded the other creatures of Equus. Especially ones that, reformed or not, had shaped and starred in ponies’ scary bedtime stories as far as memory went.

From my human’s incoherent, quivering mumbles, ponies had turned their backs on the changelings as they had with the rest of the world. With the remaining creatures hunkering down in their respective territories until the storm passed, they found themselves alone, cast aside and forgotten, growing hungrier and more desperate by the day, week after week, until Thorax had nothing else to spare and sent them into hibernation in their pods, hoping that, one day, some creature would find them and share the love that had been denied to them by the ponies. So had Alex been shown in the ‘Over Hive’... whatever that was.

Nocreature came to their aid. Nocreature ever remembered. Nocreature, except one. Their mother, who’d joined her children in the next life. At her own request.

… As far as reasons to return home like a jumbled, paranoid, broke-down mess went, now that was a good one.

And he had called this journey ‘eye-opening’...

“Oh my Faust…” Pipp, having kept an ear tuned in our conversation, let her phone clatter down carelessly, ceasing her frantic search on the Canternet to cover her muzzle with both hooves and wings, teary eyes wide in surprise and sympathy for Alex.

Zipp fared no better, gaze growing distant as the weight of his retelling struck her like a sack full of bricks. Hitch looped to the back of the couch to hold his mare, the sheriff fairing no better in his own shock, but managing to support Zipp as she was about to drop dead from the couch’s rim.

“Why? Just… why?” Zipp asked nopony, since nopony could give her an answer.

A tremendous sense of shame for my own kind filled me. I was unable to come to terms with the cruelty of such an act, to abandon a species that needed you to survive and, far from preying on you like their ancestors had done for eons, had chosen to sever the ties to their old way of life and change for the better, fitting into a brighter future with the rest of the sentient creatures of Equus. The changelings changed, and ponies couldn't have cared less.

‘And now… now they’re gone…’

“NO!” Alex kicked me out of my musings, pushing himself back with bloodshot eyes, tears being replaced for self-ager as he admonished himself. “No no no, you stupid motherfucker!! Cut the shit and focus!! You cannot let it in!!”

I’d run out of tears to shed after such a pair of stressful days, but his sudden reaction would have ceased the flow nonetheless, so out of place it was. Izzy, having been clutching onto Alex and shedding shameful tears of her own, saw her supporting grip denied after my human sought to dry the tears off his cheeks in a manner that reminded me of a tantrum, gritting his teeth hard and pulling on his hair as he repeated to himself over and over, like a mantra.

“I cannot let it in. I won’t let it in. I fucked up good, so what?! Man up and fix it, you dumb ass motherfucker!! Stop crying and be better!!”

I was utterly lost, starting to believe that my coltfriend had completely lost it. But could I blame him? After what he’d just told us, what he had to go through and learn?

I said I wouldn't give up on him, and I’d keep my word. He was hurting so much, and he was entitled to as much… but, not like this… not by destroying himself in the process.

“Stop. Alex, STOP!!” I commanded him, prying his arms from his hair and securing them hard at his sides, drawing from my earth pony strength to overpower his rage and locking my gaze to his with authority.

I wouldn’t stand this pity party any longer. I understood the guilt that made him a prisoner and his need to mourn, but this was beyond reasonable. Whatever the reason he felt he needed to stay focused and not let whatever he claimed he needed to fend off wasn't an excuse for his self-destructive behavior.

It was Alex’s turn to be surprised, caught off guard by my show of dominance. Gulping loudly, he dared not break eye contact with me if he knew what was best for him. A throaty growl made sure of it; a trick I’d learned from our shared time together, also worked to blow off some steam. Everypony has their own buttons to be pressed

“B-Baby… I-I…”

“No!” I cut him off. “I’m having none of it!” I declared with a hard stomp on his calf, stitching a wince on his lips.

“Ouch! B-But...”

“Shut it!” I ordered, and Alex answered in kind, shutting his trap, bloodshot eyes wide in surprise, and a hint of trepidation that tightened the knot in my tummy, making me need a conscious effort to ignore it. In his flummoxed stance, all traces of sorrow were swept away with a swift maneuver.

I needed a breath or two to regain my bearings, not wanting to come down too hard on him, but I was also on the brink of losing my wits. Alex had taught me an exercise which he, in turn, had learned from Twilight. It had proven wonders during the most frustrating stages of my training with my alicorn powers.

Bringing a hoof up my chest, I took a deep breath in, and a loooong breath out, accompanying the movement with a sweep of my forelegs. Alex recognized the exercise, and the tiniest of smirks made their way up his visage under the mask of surprise and apprehension.

“Wow,” Izzy muttered under her breath, my sudden rudeness having surprised her too, in a good way.

“Okay… Oookay.” I was refreshed and ready to deal with a stubborn human. “Baby,” I relaxed my approach on him, tracing the outline of his jaw as I spoke sweetly at my disturbed coltfriend. “I understand how you might think all of this is on you, and… and I guess I can understand what you meant by eye-opening, and your reluctance to trust in yourself anymore.”

The gang listened with rapt attention, unfamiliar with this side of the issue since this part of our previous conversation had remained between the two of us since the previous night at the hospital.

“And I understand that you need to mourn in your own way but… but not like this!” I ceased my caressing to grab his head firmly, just in case. “You’re hurting yourself! You’ve been hurting since the first day I met you. And we all have done everything we can to help you. I-I’ve loved you with all my heart, praying it would help you heal and move on with us as your new family, but… But now, I feel like anything I might try won’t be enough! T-That… after this?! How am I supposed to help you?! What am I supposed to say?! I never thought I’d ever say this, but… I don’t… I don’t know how to help you!” A hard sniff betrayed me. I cleared my running snout, taking back my previous claim about not having tears left to shed. “I need you to be alright, but I don’t know what else to do or say except that I love you, and I care about you, and I’ll NEVER believe for a single second that all these bad things happening all over the world are your fault! A-And, I don’t care how much you blame yourself and try to paint yourself as the bad guy. Because I. Trust. You! You mule-headed human!!” I accentuated with a nudge on his chest with every word, hoping to get the message across his thick skull once and for all.

I’d carved the energy for this chewing-out out of nowhere, and I spent it all with my speech. Feeling myself going weak at the knees, I let myself flump over my human, resting my forehead against his and breathing in his scent to try and ease my nerves.

“Please, please, baby. I don't need you to be ‘better’. You are perfect, and I love you so much. Just, just be alright… for me.”

Silence reigned over the room, nopony daring to even blink. I counted the seconds while drinking as much of my human as I could, feeling his breath, even and contemplative, tickling my mane.

Just as I was about to backtrack and apologize for my selfish request, Alex‘s hands came to rest on my cheeks, gently ushering me away to gaze at me with a sparkle of life in his eyes, something I’d longed to see again after his return. With impossible amounts of warmth and love pouring out of him, Alex brushed a thumb over my fur to erase all traces of my shameful crying.

“This. This is how you help me, baby.” Alex cooed, swallowing down one last sob before a grateful smile made its way to his lips. That smile grew into a chuckle when a funny thought happened to penetrate his mind. “Faust heed me, we’re so getting married, you and I.”

I believe I must’ve skipped a beat or two when my ears registered the word ‘marriage’. However, before I could dwell, or better said, panic over it, his lips were upon mine, forceful and demanding, taking an initiative I was more than happy to reciprocate.

The kiss, blissfully deep and meaningful, was far too short for my liking before Alex pulled away, yet the love and appreciation in his eyes would not abandon them.

“Come here,” He called all ponies present. “All of you.” His right arm opened up in invitation.

Izzy, rosy-cheeked after our little number, was the first to jump at the invitation, smashing herself against his side and nuzzling him with renewed vigor while Pipp wasted no breath to join the group hug from my side, surrounding us in her soft plumage. Hitch and Zipp did their part too, joining from behind the couch and wrapping as much of themselves as they could around us from their vantage points.

A minute of silent company passed, where we poured as much love and support into the broken human as we could before Alex spoke up from within the cocoon of limbs and feathers

“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it a thousand times more. I’m not worthy of you guys,” Alex confided in the privacy of our embrace, tightening his hold on us. We all answered in kind, aching for our friend in many ways. I couldn't even tell how many blows we’d seen him take since becoming a part of our family. It would be almost comical if we weren’t taking front-row seats watching it chip away at him one piece at a time. I genuinely thought he’d finally reached his breaking point after this, but my heart soared and the butterflies returned to my tummy when I learned that my cuddly, wondrous, loving human was still there, somewhere amidst the pile of pity and self-loathing shipped back to us from beyond the reaches of Equestria. “I love you so much…”

A soul-filling warmth spread through all of us, all of it meant for our human friend. The time of drama was over. At least, I hoped so with all my heart, for I couldn't tell if I’d be able to stand any more of it in such a short time.

We broke the group hug when we felt poor Alex was running out of air under our combined fluffiness. With a collective chuckle that felt divine in my ears and an apologetic grin, the ponies pulled back except me… and a clingy Izzy, who stubbornly refused to relinquish his arm, going as far as biting down the cloth of his jacket to prove her point when Alex tried to wiggle it away.

“Fucking hell, they ought to make a book out of this…” Alex tittered to himself, running a hand over his face tiredly before beaming down at me with so much love I felt like I was melting away. “Thank you, Tangerine. I can always trust you to drag me out of the gutter, huh?” He flashed me a wink and a chin rub which I most eagerly welcomed. What's a mare’s job but taking care of her stallion?

“But,” Alex continued while keeping with the petting of my fur. “I do need to be better.” He clarified.

Just as I was about to rebuke, he tricked me into submission with my second favorite sweet spot right under my left jaw. “I mean that I need to keep my emotions in check and be better. Better in many things, things that can help me. Like trusting you to make the big decisions from now on.”

Noticing the reluctance from Izzy to let go of her side of the cuddle, Alex gazed down at her with a lopsided grin. “Um, can I have my arm back? I wanna show you guys something that will help explain what I mean.”

“No!” Izzy fired back and pressed his arm even tighter against her belly. “I’m not letting go of you until you feel better!” She declared with a stubborn snort before chomping down on the fabric again.

Rolling his eyes, Alex let my bestie be. He returned to address us, peering upside down to the ponies behind the couch. “Get a grab on my shoulders, I need you all to be touching me for this to work.”

His strange request had spiked our curiosity. Hitch and Zipp complied and each placed a hoof on one of his shoulders. Pipp, no bribery needed, rested her own over his exposed arm. I needed no change of arrangements since I didn't believe I could physically be more in contact with him.

“I think this will explain better than any pathetic blubbering I might piece together. You’ll see what I meant yesterday, Tangerine.” He sent another warm look at me, before closing his eyes in concentration. “This spell is a bit tricky. I’ll try to keep within the memory, but fragments might spill in, so don’t freak out.”

All ponies present shared one last puzzled glance. We trusted Alex with whatever he’d planned to do, but my gut told me we were in for a wild ride.

My fur stood on end with the buildup of magic in his gauntlets. Once the crest of his spell had built up, he opened his eyes, now completely white as they radiated magical power, before reciting the words.

“Vivorum memoria.”

A flash of light, and we were gone.

It was late afternoon in Canterlot Palace. Most of the palace’s staff were wrapping up and preparing to head home for the day, while the night shift began to trickle in through the ample doors of the royal home for the recently instituted Sovereign of Equestria, Princess Twilight Sparkle, and his partner in love and crime, Prince Alexander.

The former was lost somewhere within the ample bowels of the palace’s library, devouring tome after tome, scroll after scroll, whatever she could get her hooves on that covered any and all topics she deemed indispensable for the correct fulfilling of her new tremendous obligations. The latter, however, was preoccupied with another head-wrecker of his own.

The pair, plus one quickly-growing dragon teenager, had undergone many changes in the past few months, with the crest of it being the desperate last defense against the Legion of Doom in their attempts to overthrow Equestria’s seat of power, and their official ascension as Equestria’s sole rulers after the long-reining alicorn sisters had stepped down to pursue other goals.

Stress, sleepless nights, nothing that the three of them couldn't handle as a family. Believe it herself or not, Twilight had been groomed since her early years to fit the role, and the human had proven numerous times his worth to rule by her side, even if he’d chosen not to mingle in the rulings of the Kingdom, except for his obligations as Prince of Knowledge, which were far and numerous by themselves, meaning there was no shortage of work to be done.

Nevertheless, those obligations would have to wait, for this particular head-wrecker demanded his immediate attention. With the defeat of the Legion of Doom, another major event preceded the sealing of Equestria’s mightiest foes in a prison of stone until the end of time.

*BOOM!!!*

“Pace thyself, my friend!”

Alexander had been… blessed. Anypony, and creatures for that matter, would’ve thought of it as such. Anypony except a scarce few who, in their own flesh and the passage of the centuries, knew better of the impossible gift the human had been granted.

One of those beings, the youngest of the royal sisters, touched first by the Rainbow Light over a millenia ago, was aiding the young prince in his process of learning these new blessings as they’d come. For his ascension as Empyrean of all ponyind had not been the only thing to follow him from the grave.

*CRACK!!!*

The thunder of a powerful incantation reverberated throughout the training courtyard belonging to the detachment of the Royal Palace Guard, its power enough to make the ears of passerby citizens flick in the direction of the palace all the way from the commercial district, two levels below in the great capital of Equestria, built in the form of concentric rings.

A true show was developing in the training courtyard, running the length of the barracks where dozens of recruits and seasoned guards alike had parked their late-day duties to bear witness to another of the increasingly frequent ‘therapy sessions’ for Prince Alexander.

The human panted and gasped in stain, the magical, shimmering armor he wore weighing him down as if made out of lead, yet the magical construct possessed no actual mass whatsoever. In his hands, he wore one of his greatest inventions, one which had accompanied him since his early days in this strange world, the gems strategically placed on the gauntlets humming and shrilling with magical power, almost burning to the touch if he wasn’t careful enough.

Commanding his bleary eyes into focus after a nasty hit, Alexander zeroed in on the ‘method’ for his special therapy session, a Gigas-level summon in the shape of himself, albeit featureless since being formed out of sheer magic. The perfect training buddy to chase down your own ghosts. They say it’s healthy to punch yourself once every now and then to get your stuff in order.

The technicalities of the summon were lost to the human, never having particularly been inclined toward that field of offensive magic, sticking to his guns in the shape of two, humongous (by pony standards) blades joined at the handle to form a twinblade of unparalleled power and dexterity. A weapon worthy of an Empyrean.

Princess Luna, the puppeteer in this play, granted no quarrel to the exhausted prince and commanded his summoned doppelgänger to attack once more.

“Ah… Mnng… No fucking… pah… break.” Alex grumbled in a foul mood as he dragged himself up from his knees. His joints popped, clothes dirty with the loose soil and dust he’d been dragged through numerous times that afternoon, only fueling the frustration and spite that made up the recipients the therapy sessions aimed to treat.

Reaching with his hand, the gems lit up under this silent command, recalling his weapon, Binary, from wherever it had ended up after his last throw. The mirror-image Gigas did not wait for Alex to recover his weapon, lunging in for another offensive before the young prince was prepared.

“Fuck!” Alex was forced into a sidestep as the mimetic copy swept down with a vertical slice, using a copy of the human’s own weapon over the place he’d been standing half a second ago. It followed with a horizontal slash, clashing against Alex’s summoned arm shield in a flurry of sparkles, sending a painful aftershock over the length of Alex’s arms to aggravate his already aching limbs.

The magical clone followed with a series of slashes and stabs, all parried by Alex’s shield and telekinetic shoves as he found himself slowly cornered against the northern edge of the yard, where a certain blue-feathered-and-furred griffon stood watch with the rest of the trainees.

“Come on, Alex! Whoop his flank!” Gallus cheered to the top of his lungs, his comrades roaring up after him, their recruit uniforms flapping under the strength emanating from each of the parried blows.

“Easier said than done, bird-for-brains!” Alex barked back without skipping a beat on his defense. The fact that those were his own movements didn't mean they were any less deadly. From the other edge of the yard, No-Longer-Princess Luna kept a watchful eye on the battlefield, her horn flashing sporadically with each change she imprinted into the mimetic’s strategy.

Up, left, left, stab, down, shove, the mimetic was merciless in its assault. Blow after blow, Alex was able to telegraph the mimetic’s moves and, by extension, Luna’s intentions until he couldn't keep up with the rhythm anymore. He invoked a telekinetic shove to create some distance between the two contestants, draining a chunk of his reserves but granting him the window of opportunity he needed.

A glimmer of light against the afternoon sun brought his attention to the corner of his eyes. Smiling wickedly, it was Alex’s turn now to push the offensive.

“Fulgur!”

A bout of lighting spewed from his open palm just as the mimetic was about to pounce over the human once more, its high-skies lunge leaving it exposed for a tremendous bare-chested hit that sent it flying into the middle of the arena. No chance for recovery was granted to the summoned creature on the ropes, a wave of Alex’s hand evoking the dirt under the mimetic’s landing site to bend outward explosively as the prince rushed in a mad run towards it, gems crackling in power as they upset the contract's balance further.

Pushing the forward momentum built on his run downwards, Alex jumped higher than any regular human should be able to, just in time to catch the twinsword homing on his beacon, falling down with the fury of the goddess into the mimetic, the power of the sun and moon bewitched into each of the respective blades making them shine in their respective auras.

“DIE!” Alex cried, drunk with overwhelming power as he prepared to deliver the definitive blow that’d seal his victory for the day. Luna saw this and tsked, disappointed in his lack of self-control, but such was the purpose of these training exercises. She hadn’t enjoyed said privileges when the Nightmare had haunted her psyche and twisted her thoughts into submission, transforming her into the reason fillies and colts alike wouldn't dare to venture past their bedtime hour if they didn't wish to be gobbled up. She’d help the Nightmare’s new host in the way neither she nor her sister could help her in the days of the Everfree. And what better way than to push the host to the limit to test his self-control and reliance?

Alas, progress was disappointingly slow, the weight of the crown on the young human making it no smaller a pill to swallow.

Binary came down to clash against the copycats’ own weapon, sparks flying everywhere and a tremor lifting up dust to the brink of masking the entire arena. The pegasi amidst the ranks flapped their wings hard to lift the dust cloud up so as to not miss a single second of the fight. They managed to do so right on time to see Alex pushing down hard against the mimetic’s steely resistance, only for the construct to sidestep him and, in a sweeping movement only achieved by bipedal legs, throw the human off balance in his blindness, gifting the prince a reminder of his mess-up with a shattering blow right on his protected ribs.

Alex was sent flying once more towards the edge of the arena as Luna rolled her eyes and snorted, bothered by his reluctance to pace himself and retain a steady mind. She knew the Nightmare was a relentless being, forever haunting its host until it either gained control over it, or the host died. She needed him to learn not only to resist it but to use it to his own advantage. With the Nightmare came power, juicy, promising power for a weak mind to resist. But Luna knew better of Alexander. She had bore witness to his unchallenged resolve and perseverance, so was his Element in the Bearer’s own eyes. Through combat and strife, where the body grew weakest and the mind more desperate, he’d learn to master his own emotions and prevent the darkness from taking over. That, and another few tricks of the human’s own volition.

Alex was still young and inexperienced, and yet the weight of the world had been bestowed upon his shoulders. His thoughts, his emotions, his will and resolve, everything about him must remain his, and fully his. If the influence of the Nightmare was to overcome his usually calm and thoughtful approach to things, Luna feared the consequences that his decisions might entail if left unchecked.

On a side note, Luna also enjoyed dragging his flank through the dirt every once in a while. The human might beat her in all the video games they played together, but real life is tough life.

During his unceremonious landing, Alex swallowed a week’s worth of dirt as he skidded to a halt face-first, his nose touching the white-painted edge of the rectangular arena, right in front of a pair of pink-scaled fore-claws, a wincing hippogriff standing over them.

“Yikes, that was a nasty one!” Silverstream sang with a bit too much enthusiasm for the ragged human’s liking. Her mate-to-be, Gallus, also sported a lopsided wince on his beak as he held a comfortable wing over Silverstreams back.

“Nice to see you too, Silver,” Alex spoke from under a pile of dirt in his mouth. Spitting it out loudly, he stumbled like a drunkard back into his feet, dusting himself before calling Binary into his right arm. “Is this your idea for a date, Gallus?” He sent a short leer to the smirking griffon.

Silverstream answered for him with her usual cheer. “Are you kidding?! This is so much fun!” She screeched with an excited tapping of her foretalons. Gallus could only shrug his feathery shoulders and smile at his significant other.

“I’m gonna have Steel Wing serve your flank for dinner, Private. You know better than inviting civilians to the training grounds.” Alex fired toward Gallus, earning nothing but a small chuckle from the trainee.

“Hah! You survive this first, then we’ll talk about whose flank is getting served.”

“Aaaand, I’m not a regular civilian, mister!” Silverstream teamed up with the griffon against the human. “Uh, two-times heroes of Equestria here?” She pointed alternatively at both of them with a wink and no short amount of snark.

It was meant as a playful rebuke, but far from amusing Alexander, it only chipped away at his dwindling patience, making him grow even more pissed at the world. He recognized the symptoms, slowly but surely feeling himself slip away while the notion of detachment overcame every conscious movement. Taking a deep breath and a silent thanks for the short respite Luna had granted him, he left the pair behind to focus back on the game.

Twirling Binary from hand to hand around his body, Alex knew better than to let himself lose control. He commanded the parasite that chipped at his mental resolve and not the other way around. If he wanted to tap into his power, he'd’ have to do so while retaining all his mental faculties, or else he’d end up taking a long vacation on the Moon, or something worse. Since his ascension as Empyrean, many things had changed for him, becoming the target of the Nightmare after his newfound position only a fraction of the new reality he had to face.

The Legion of Doom had been sealed away, the United Heptarchy thrived under the treaties between races he had helped to seal, and the ISIT taking a strong foothold in creature’s lives far and wide. His dream of a better world was in full bloom, with him as a centerpiece of change. And still, after all the things he’d accomplished, and the lives he’d improved, Alex couldn't help but feel that all this was a distraction, a painful one at that, anchoring him to the ground and preventing him from reaching his full potential as Prince of Knowledge.

Any other creature might’ve thought it more than enough of a list of accomplishments for an entire life, but not Alexander. He wanted more. He’d have more.

‘These thoughts aren’t yours.’ Alex caught himself on time, readying himself for the next round as he pushed down the coalescing storm in his mind. ‘Everything is going as planned. I need to pace myself and control my expectations.’

Any weak spot, any small crack, the Nightmare could exploit. It was a heavy existence, but the human had to admit it became easier with each day. He no longer heard the Nightmare’s whispers in his sleep. He no longer chased its shadows on every corner in plain daylight. But like a broken record playing in the back of his mind, the ever-constant pressure still affected him to a degree, making him prone to mood swings at its worst, and an unhealthy dose of second-guessing himself at best. These ‘therapy sessions’ were free spaces where he could let go and come to terms with the darkness inside him, learning to tame it as he tamed his body.

Although he’d rather spend his time vomiting all his emotional baggage to a therapist who pretends to listen, only for later to kill him with a monstrous bill as it was a costume on the world he left behind, he couldn't deny he enjoyed getting his ass whipped over the training yard. He’d best Luna one of these days. He had the literal eternity now to do so.

Binary inscribed circular paths in the air as Alex twirled it around himself, almost as if doing so were second nature to him, drawing from his dexterity in levitation to achieve a fluidity that no wrist could ever dream of. Fed up of seeing his own, featureless image patiently waiting for him in the middle of the arena, Alex took advantage of the gap in the fight to find a weak spot to exploit. Luna’s proficiency in battle surpassed that of her sister, making her the mightiest warrior in Equestria, possibly in the entirety of Equus, meaning she was the toughest of bones to chew. His hopes of besting her face-to-face were slim to none, but winning or losing was not the main goal of the exercise. In fact, it was more about standing up and fighting for as long as his bones could carry him before calling it a day; a lesson learned perhaps, and a few more days bought for the health of his psyche. It’d become rutinary, another thing to add to his already overflowing schedule.

Alex felt like wrapping this up here and now. After this, he’d gorge himself on some early dinner with his friends who were witnessing him get his ass beaten by a Gigas. Then, he’d find his Twilight and drag her to their bedroom from whatever corner she’d hidden from her advisors to study in peace and ride her into next week. Perhaps he’d let her ride him; he was feeling positively sore right now.

‘You had to choose the Doppelfiend, eh, Luna? Couldn’t have summoned that huge-ass alligator from last week? Now that was a cool tumble.’

With a plan hatching in his mind, Alex opted for brute-fighting his way into a window of opportunity. He was basically fighting himself, and he wanted to believe that he knew his own weaknesses and strengths. Not only that, but he needed to fool Luna at her vantage point outside the battlefield.

‘... Yeah. I’d best just lay down and play dead.’

Detaching the solar and lunar blades, Alex called forth gravikinesis to build momentum into the latter of the swords. Dust and pebbles tumbled and jumped around the human's feet under the influence of his building magic. He was close to the safety limit where his body would start being badly affected by the power coursing through his body into his gauntlets, but he felt he had enough juice for one final stance.

The impromptu public cheered with wild excitement, hooves, claws, and paws stomping and clapping in a deafening roar, pumping Alex’s spirits. They called for a show, and their caring Prince would give them one.

“Go give’em hell, hot stuff!!”

‘Oh, I didn't know Rainbow was also here.’

A quick search of the nearby skies proved his hunch right, the raspy cheer coming from the rainbow-maned pegasus hovering high above the surrounding public to get the best view. Alex remembered then that the Wonderbolts were throwing a tremendous show in Canterlot for their… how many years anniversary? He couldn't remember at the time, but they sure were a big bunch of numbers. Rainbow must’ve arrived sometime during the foray. Alex might be looking to get some cold cider with the mare after this. It’d been a while since he’d visited Ponyville.

Throwing the pegasus a lightning-fast wave so as to not lose his flow, the lunar blade was sent flying towards the human’s mimic right at the moment the puppet was about to resume its offensive. It took the shake of a deer’s tail for the blade to impact with an ear-shattering *Boom!*, the mimic successfully parrying it with Binary’s featureless equivalent, but became staggered for the two seconds Alex needed to catch up, making Luna tsk on the sidelines as a close-quarters combat strategy would be needed, and she knew how dangerous Alex’s particular choice of fighting style made him in close quarters.

The retired princess lit her honor and prepared to keep up with Alex’s ‘dance’, as the human had the peculiarity of naming his movements, familiar enough to expect what strategy was hatching in the young prince’s mind and order the Dopplefiend accordingly.

Luna could almost feel Alex’s pumped-up energy oozing out of him. How much of that belonged purely to him, and what was being drawn from the shapeless parasite currently searching for a way in, Luna could not be entirely sure. She could not deny the results, but if there was one creature on this green planet who knew the cost of tasting the honey the Nightmare placed in front of your snout without seeing the axe swinging down.

With the lunar blade returning from high in the air where it had been deflected, Alex holstered the solar blade, white and steaming with power, into a stabbing stance as he lunged for the Gigas. Luna prepared the puppet to react accordingly, but something in his wide, undisguised approach tickled her wrong, somehow.

Too late, for Alex was already over the Doopllefiend. However, instead of following the steps predicted by Luna, Alex countered the mimic’s downward slash with an ascending one of his own, sparks flying from the contact point. His wrist strained and ached under the pressure, forcing him to apply an extra dose of gravikinesis into the gash for his evil scheme to work.

The blow was exchanged, the public roaring up in ecstasy. However, none were as flabbergasted as Luna when she bore witness to what Alex had planned in this short respite she had granted him. Cyan eyes grew wide in surprise when, instead of pressing on with another stab, the upward force Alex pumped into the solar blade was enough to both break the mimic's stance and pry it from his hands. All actions entail an equal and opposite reaction; in this case, downwards, which Alex took advantage of to slide under the mimic’s defenses, sidestepping and throwing it off balance with a nasty sweep in ventetta for the same move it’d landed on him.

Ozone could be tasted in the air and gravity seemed to bend the space of the arena as Alex drew on his last reserves of magic before the safety limit for the promised last number, one trick he’d come to pull during a previous, private training session with Prince Shining Armor, one which, like many others, had been born from inspiration of the rich human culture he had brought with him on his world-jumping journey.

His gauntlets hummed with power, gems firing up as they interpreted his command. The logic breaker was uttered as Alex came to a skidding halt. In the palms of his hands and on the handle of both swords, a blob of light manifested, which quickly stretched and solidified as a pair of ethereal chains, flying from their respective origins to join mid-air.

Luna recognized the nature of his next offensive, a vein popping on her forehead as she found herself completely sidestepped by the cunning human.

Sending one shit-eating grin over his shoulder, headed for a certain princess, Alex was ready for a showdown.

Meanwhile, Luna could only curse the pain in the flank that Alex turned out to be every now and then. “That confounded human!!!” She boomed in her royal voice. Needless to say, Luna was a sore loser.

What happened then, which left the spectators, close friends and acquaintances alike, dead in their seats, could only be described as an absolute carnage. The training arena became a sea of flying swords as the human commanded them in impossible directions of angles, using the inertia built by the physical anchor that the chains posed to make every blow overwhelmingly staggering as he closed the distance to the Doppelfiend in a deadly wave.

Alex twisted and gyrated with each blow he sent his twin swords flying for, both solar and lunar blades becoming almost impossible to track, even for Luna’s expert senses. Blow after blow turned the mimic into something akin to a human-shaped piñata, the ceasing of commands from Luna rendering it unable to keep up, much less defend itself from the flurry of gashes that slowly chipped away at its arcane integrity.

The unanimous cheer from ponies and other creatures alike gathered around only pumped the human further, the limit rapidly approaching as he felt the beginnings of serious fatigue and harm filling his chest and limbs. Twilight would have his head if he pushed himself too far again, especially in silly training exercises, as she frequently referred to them. Still, he pushed on, sensing the Dooplefiend being torn apart until its integrity would fail after a few more hits.

He couldn't deny it anymore. For as much as Alex despised violence and the need for it in the first place, the thrill of the power coursing through his veins, the control he exerted over himself and his weapon, was intoxicating. As his focus hardened, he was completely sure this intoxication was entirely his own product and not a blindfold placed by the Nightmare to justify his drive.

The power, and the possibilities that came with it, beyond anything any human back on Earth could ever dream to achieve, made him truly feel like the Empyrean he’d unwillingly become, a vessel of change beyond what he could provide as a scientist and as a leading figure of Equestria.

Alex was powerful. Alex was capable, a shadow of a memory from the pudgy, scared-shitless-utterly-lost human that landed unceremoniously in Twilight's Thrones Room all those years ago.

This fight was practice as well as therapy of sorts, but that didn't mean he wasn't gonna enjoy it to its fullest, especially now that the fear of the Nightmare taking over wasn’t that prominent thanks to his progress.

Alex was back in reach for a close-quarters attack, but that would be just plain boring now. Better yet, he recalled his chained blades to his hands and pushed hard with his telekinesis to surround himself with the blades, launching himself into a horizontal spin while keeping Binary’s separated halves close to draw from the angular momentum building to unhinged levels. Once Alex felt he was close to crashing down back to the floor, he let go of the accumulated inertia in a double-bladed, wide-sweep downwards blow. With a victory cry, the human pushed himself to the limit as the blades came crashing down on the staggered mimic.

*BOOOOOM!!!*

As one, they crushed the construct into the dirt, making the entire courtyard shake under the spectators, the ones on their wings being pushed back, to the brink of losing their flight, some even needing to land back down. A tremendous cloud of dust masked the outcome of the fight. The air became still, no creature daring to even breathe as they balanced on the tips of their respective appendages in maddening expectation.

The sun was kissing the horizon when the victor of the fight revealed himself, pushing a telekinetic wave around him to lift the cloud of dust and debris. Standing alone in the middle of the courtyard, hunched and panting hard with aching muscles and a steady nosebleed, Alex proclaimed himself the winner, for no trace of the Dopplefiend could be discerned beyond the prominent dent carved in the ground that somecreature would have to fix before the next day’s morning drills.

His sorry state was not the most alarming feature discernible on Alex’s body. From his half-lidded, glazed eyes, purple mist could be seen trickling down like a river of tears, a poisonous omen Luna was quick to catch and bring her to the human’s side with a teleport. The gathered creatures were too immersed in their roaring approval to notice the signs of slipping that Alex was sporting.

Perhaps he’d overestimated his progress in mastering self-control. Still, Alex felt like his completely-drained self, the amorphous cacophony of venomous whispers that normally accompanied a close touch with the Nightmare only a mere pest in his swimming consciousness.

Alex sucked in a steady gulp of air, the blades in his hands being rejoined in the middle as the ethereal chains binding them to their bearer shattered back into the Aëther. With his magical stamina drained, their true weight was reminded to the human who, with a grunt through clenched teeth, holstered them once more onto his back as he depowered his gauntlets.

Alex let the shower of cheers wash down over him, clenching his eyes shut and regaining his bearings.

‘Fuck, I thought I’d have that under wraps by now.’

“My friend,” A feminine voice called from beyond the darkness.

Alex opened his eyes and found Luna already at his side, wings covering them both in what to the spectator's eyes would seem like a hug, but in truth was a way of granting them some privacy. An injector materialized in front of Alex, its contents a familiar recipe for him by then.

Without ceremony, Alex grabbed the injector and treated himself with a loaded dose of beta-blockers and GABA-ergic substances of numerous kinds; an unhealthy, but undeniably effective shortcut designed by himself to shut the Nightmare off, and a good chunk of him in the process. The nasty cocktail came with a proportional dose of noradrenaline to at least allow him not to collapse on the spot. Shrugging off the sting of the needle on his neck, Alex felt the results almost immediately, a tremendous sense of sleep overcoming him for a second before simply feeling like a train had run him over.

“Thanks, Luna,” Alex handed back the injector to the alicorn, Luna teleporting it back to his room high in Upsilon tower. “I apologize, I thought I’d be good enough to push it this time.”

With the routinary process out of the way, Luna brought herself to give a proper hug, her heart going out to her old friend, now allied by the same curse that had bought her enmity with her sister and a thousand years of banishment.

“Fear not, my friend. Thou committed thyself to thy fullest today and bested me. I am proud of thine progress. The Nightmare harbors no hopes of conquering you now. ” Luna whispered into the human’s ear, her rich voice soothing Alex’s shame to a simple sense of emptiness, any joy from his crushing victory drained by the reminder of the unwelcome companion that even now tried its mightiest to take over him.

“Begs the question, why can’t the girls just zap me with the Elements and be done with it like they did to you?” Alex huffed with a tired heave.

“What Elements?” Luna replied with a chuckle, pulling back from the embrace as she heard the human’s loved ones approaching them. “And, even if that was a possibility, I doubt the Bearers, much less Twilight will be too akin to using them on thineself, my friend.” A thoughtful look crossed the former Princess' features. “Although, I do believe thou would make for a fine statue in my gardens.” She mused with a feather to her chin.

“Your gardens?” Alex felt in high enough spirits to chuckle back at Luna’s sass. “Only retired from the boring parts, I see.”

“I would have it no other way.” Luna poked Alex’s ribs playfully before stepping back, holstering her wings while letting the speediest of the human’s close ones catch up with him.

“Dude!” Rainbow cried with vigor as she landed in front of Alex in a cloud of dust. “That was awesome! When did you learn to do that?! Can you teach me?!”

During his years living in Equestria and the lands beyond, Alex had met and bonded with numerous creatures, shapes, colors, and stories beyond the wildest of a human’s imagination. And yet, from within all the ties he’d grown in this world, there were only a scarce few to whom the young prince could truly feel himself at home with. Five mares in question, who became his family away from Earth and welcomed him with open hooves when he was alone and scared out of his wits. A baby dragon Alex called ‘the little brother he never had’.

And a young alicorn princess that, against all the human’s preconceptions and upbringings, had stolen his heart a long time ago and made him feel like he truly belonged amongst the colorful equines. One that would have his hide once she caught wind of his little stunt.

Warmed by the presence of the speediest, rowdiest of his closed circle, Alex cracked down in a hearty chuckle before bringing the prismatic mare into a big hug, which Rainbow reciprocated without protest.

“Good to see you again, Skittles,” Alex cackled harder when catching the muffled grumble from the mare against his choice of nickname. Letting Rainbow back down on her hooves, he reached behind his back and summoned Binary with a magnetic hum. “Sure I can. You can start by holding this for me.”

Dropping the twinblades unceremoniously over the pegasus’ back, Rainbow folded down and plopped on her belly when the actual weight of the humongous weapon was revealed to her without the influence of Alex’s magic.

“Ooof!” Rainbow saw the air squeezed out of her lungs as kissed the loose dirt under her hooves. “D-Dude! What the hay?! This is so heavy!” She protested in bewilderment while trying and failing to climb back up with the blades balanced on her back.

“It’s meant for an Empyrean, RD,” Alex felt the need to clarify, joining in the gathered crowd’s round of snickers to the prismatic mare’s chagrin. Powering his left gauntlet, he freed Rainbow from his weapon’s imprisonment, returning it to his back, Rainbow’s petition now answered for her. A shame for her, those movements had been absolutely rad.

“Thank you all for coming!” Alex then turned to address the few guards and military personnel that had entered the arena to approach him while the rest slowly trickled away from the premises. “I hope you enjoyed the show, but you all better vamoose soon, lest Shining catches you slacking off.”

“T-The Captain’s here?!” One guardsmare asked with a shaky voice, quickly being corrected by another guard regarding Shining's position as former Captain since his obligations at the Crystal Empire made him an unwise choice to occupy both positions at the same time. Still, his drills would forever remain in the records, as would his punishments for lazy ponies not getting their rounds done, the perfect way to scare the new recruits into shape, even if the stallion in question was hundreds of kilometers away.

Alex made a mental note to visit them soon. He missed his adopted family and the little bundle of joy Flurry Heart was quickly growing into.

And to think it’d been almost eight years…

Coming up with a schedule for a quick visit that would make his Twilight proud to tears, Alex felt like passing out for a quick nap before the mare in question could chew him out. He felt like having the royal cooks whip up some pizzas for them. Spike was meant to return anytime now from his visit to the Dragonlands. If he was lucky, Alex could have his closest family with him for a movie night or something. And they could all attend the Wonderbolts show the next day.

A semblance of spirit flickered to life in Alex’s chest, breaking through his prominent exhaustion. With Luna addressing some high-ups in the military chain, and Rainbow adoringly pouting with a rosy tint on her cheeks, Alex felt more at home than ever.

With friends and family like this, he had nothing to fea-

*CRASH!!!*

‘W-What’s going on?!’

The world around them cracked and shattered like a mirror, the memories fragmenting into a flurry of fast-playing incoherent images before settling down into a steady stream.

Greenery spread through the slopes and ridges of the Canterhorn Peak, lining a smoking city, partially in ruins. Furious winds roaring under a blanket of gray bottling the skies, pale, slender figures slithering at the edge of vision, their ghostly chants icing the blood of the present creatures like the bad omen they embodied.

Thunder and lighting warred in the heavens, while on the ground, a different battle ensued.

Six Element Bearers and a baby dragon panted and heaved tiredly while their three nemeses stood no worse for wear, wicked grins preceding their victory.

One lone human stood between them and his family, ragged and injured, but his spirit burning up like Tartarus.

One last stand, they needed more time.

Sword in hand, a spell forming in the other.

He wasn’t fast enough.

A blinding light, coming from the smallest member of the Legion. An agonizing fire spread through his chest, a cascade of blood followed by a sense of limbo that quickly overcame his consciousness.

He’d failed.

“T-Twilight…”

Another crack, another broken mirror. A town up in celebration, ponies leaving their cozy houses with thatched roofs to take part in the festivities in the streets. Alexander and his pony friends celebrated too, an anniversary of his coming to Equestria that the whole town wished to celebrate. He knew nothing but happiness, the warmth of his loved ones warming his heart. It had been a few rough months, but the progress had been worth it. His dream was coming true. With a purple unicorn snuggled at his side as they both sipped from some cold cider, the mare went in for a kiss…

Another crack, another vision. A minotaur settlement, a roaring fire consuming a storage building. Minotaurs ran back and forth, and no warriors were left to prevent the disaster. A bloodied blade, dripping life-giving crimson into the matted dirt. They had gone too far. He should've destroyed the weapon sooner…

Another crack, another road. Ruins of a civilization, skeletons of a rich city. Poisonous air, radioactive water, dirt, and moss were the only things that passed for food. A sigil follows him everywhere, remnants of what were once proud equines hunted him. This is his legacy.

Another crack, another life. Windows opened, the curtains dancing gently against the midnight breeze that slipped inside the cozy room. Alex had missed her at his side, coming out of his dreams under the dissonance of her warmth. He found Twilight over the railing of the balcony, peering back at him with teary eyes when she heard his muffled steps again the breeze caressing her ears. Tears trickled down her violet pearls. “I'm s-so sorry, my love. So, so sorry…”

Another crack, followed by another, and another more, memories slipping in faster and faster as the dreamer lost control.

A dark cave, with countless podded ponies lining the walls. Vengeance.

A convocation of creatures, every single race joined together. One chance only, a cry for the future.

A pony of shadows, friends turned foes. Pitiful.

An underwater city, sea dwellers escaping the steady lava that would consume it.

A classroom full of eager creatures, crippling nerves taking hold of him. The student had become the teacher.

‘It's too much! M-Make it stop!!’

An entire life before their eyes, compressed in a millisecond, or perhaps a century. The spell was shattering, the dreamer had lost control.

The stillness followed the storm to its conclusion. A void, one last figment. A rainbow light calling for a new purpose. A new Empyrean was born, and the price would be the end of his dream.

Something crept under their hooves, hiding at the edge of the darkness. It swallowed the rainbow light and the kneeling human in front of it, the words lost in the immensity of the nothingness.

Fur stood on end, ears twitching like crazy in their heads. They tried to find it but failed. For it had found them first.

Soon, Guardians of Harmony. He will be mine, and I'll see our dream fulfilled!!

The Nightmare lunged. It was our turn. I understood.

“NO!!”

A new light was born from me, chasing away the shadows, screeching as if they were burned. They had been, for I was powerful, my wings and horn my sword and shield.

I understood then, I understood many things about my human. Things I couldn't put my hoof on since the very start, things I’d swept under the rug and decided not to care about. My commitment remained the same, though. I'd protect my human to my last breath, from spirits of chaos and nightmares and whatever the world would throw us!

I had only one thing to say to the monster that lived in Alex’s closet. Fat chance for it, because I had learned.

“HE! IS! MINE!!!”

I exploded, taking the dream with me.

I knew how to help him.

By my will, Hope.