Opening his eyes, the first thing Jace saw was a vast, seemingly endless, void directly above him. He knew he had pushed himself well past his limits, even with his armors augmenting his strength and speed. His body could only handle so much even if he was a super soldier. Sure that he was in Purgatory, he sat up, only to wince in pain. It was then that he knew he was still alive. After all, death wasn't painful, or so he had read. Standing up and shaking off the pain, Jace looked around and found something odder than the void above him. All around him were images, more like videos than anything, that showed his past all the way up to the last thing he remembered seeing, twilight's ceiling. Walking up to one such video, this particular one showing a time of celebration with his friends, the other Diablos, as they celebrated both his and his younger twins, Ryuk, birthday.

What is this place? All of these images...they show me the memories of my life and yet I feel at ease. I have never felt so at peace, even after the war. I was always on edge, waiting for a final, desperate retaliation that, in the back of my mind, I knew would never come. How is it that I can be at peace in this place? Why am I here?

"Perhaps I could help answer a few of your question." A familiar female voice came from behind him.

Turning quickly, Jace found himself face to muzzle with the princess of the night. Not expecting her to be there, he quickly jumped back before calming his nerves and bowing politely.

"Princess Luna," he said respectfully, not wishing to offend the lunar princess. "it is a pleasure and an honor to see you again. But if I may ask, How and why are you here?"

"It is part of my role as ruler of the night to watch over the dreams of my little ponies," Luna explained with a soft smile. "To ensure they have someone to help them through nightmares and to regulate their dreamscapes, which is where you are now. this is your own dreamscape, though nopony has ever seen it's true form besides me. perhaps your difference in species and own unique skills are allowing you to see it this way."

"My Dreamscape?" Jace muttered softly as he looked around himself again. "I didn't even realize I could still dream."

"What do you mean, Sir Veritas?" Luna inquired, seemingly perplexed by his statement.

"First," Jace said with a small smile and began walking down the path of memories. "It's not "Sir Veritas", as I have never been formally knighted, either here nor in my own universe. Secondly, the last time I ever had a dream, I was in basic training and was 10 years old."

Luna giggled slightly at that. "Forgive me. it's easy to forget that you aren't a knight, especially when you act like one." Luna paused and frowned "Has it really been so long since you had a dream?"

Jace nodded and the two slipped into a comfortable silence. As they walked, Jace cast a sideways glance at Luna. He had to admit, she was beautiful, even if they were't the same species. Luna's long legs were muscular but not overly so and the led up to a waist that couldn't be called anything but statuesque. Luna's rear was just big enough to bounce a little as she walked, slightly swinging her hips, and her bust was definitely noticeable, even from a distance. She definitely had an hourglass figure. Her teal eyes shone like pools of freshwater in the light of the stars. Anyone, or anypony, could tell, this mare was an absolute bombshell.

what am I thinking? she's A completely different species! not to mention a princess! I need to stop thinking like this, it's unprofessional. Besides, it's not like she would take an interest in someone like me anyways, not to mention she probably already has a special someone...somepony?...in her life. Anyway's Artemis and Pikushi would have a fit if they knew about her. The last time that happened, I had to pay to rebuild the whole freaking hotel!

*meanwhile, back in Jace's universe*

Artemis and Pikushi suddenly stood up, grabbed their chairs and threw them through the cafe's windows. The two female super soldiers then looked at each other, completely confused.

"Huh? I wonder why we did that." Pikushi wondered aloud.

"Maybe Jace is thinking about someone else." Artemis replied.

"Na, can't be. He remembers last time." Pikushi joked. "Come on, let's pay for the damages"

*back to the dreamscape*

Luna turned towards a different memory, this one of Jace and his comrades celebrating what looked like Hearths Warming, and watched the events unfold. She marveled at how they could smile and laugh while a war was happening. Even though her subjects still celebrated the holiday, they didn't laugh as much, nor as heartily, as these super soldiers.

"How is it that your kind can celebrate Hearths Warming in such a manner during a war?" She asked. "Even the Element of Laughter, Pinkie Pie, is less jolly during this conflict."

Jace walked over to stand beside her, smiling as he watched the memory play out in a never ending loop. He missed the days like this one in the war, where everyone was together and not spread apart by missions.

"Hearths Warming, huh? To my kind, it's known as Christmas," he answered. "Christmas has long been a time for peace for human-kind. Even in days long since past, opposing armies would call ceasefires for this one solitary day, celebrating it together, sometimes even meeting in the no mans lands to have music, dancing and even feasts with each other. It just goes to show that even the worst of enemies can put their differences aside, even if it is only for a single day in the long year."

Luna looked at Jace, seeing his smile and smiling herself, as they continued down the path of his memories together. While she would never admit it to her sister, or anyone else for that matter, Luna had taken a liking to the young super soldier. The air of confidence and strength he exuded made her feel safer than her own bodyguards could. She admired how he remained calm in spite of being thrown, unprepared, into a whole new world. It was a soothing effect that had been felt not only by her, but by everypony he came to know. Jace had shown her that even a mighty warrior could be as gentle as a breeze softly whispering through the leaves of a forest. She herself had seen it firsthoof, back at town hall, where he had spoken softly and soothingly to Fluttershy, to put her at ease.

Jace smiled wider as he and Luna stopped at each memory and he told her everything about them, even the bad stuff. It felt great letting all of his memories float by and talking to someone that didn't run away from the horrible ones. Luna was a great listener and would laugh with Jace anytime they came across a memory of some prank or funny moment that had been witnessed by him, or done to him. Seeing her smile and hearing her laugh fueled his own smile and laughter. thus, they passed the night in each others company, watching his memories like a movie as they strolled down the path.

***********************************************************************************************************************

Jace awoke to find himself in a hospital bed and surrounded by fifteen ponies, a dragon and a zebra, all looking down at him with worried expressions. He smiled and sat up to get into a more comfortable position.

Luna stepped forward and put a hand on his shoulder, smiling.

"It's good to see you awake and healed, Jace," She said as the rest nodded and smiled. "There are some here that would like to meet you."

The pink one stepped forward, carrying herself like a princess. "greetings," She said, with a soft smile. "I am Mi Amore Cadenza, Princess of love and wife to Shining Armor, but you may call me Cadence"

Next came the blue haired one. "Hello sir," The stallion greeted. "I am Prince Shining Armor, Captain of the royal guard, Twilight's big brother best friend forever, and Husband to Cadence. It is an honor to meet you."

After Shining armor, came the zebra. "It is good to see you awake," She said. "For a while i thought I made a mistake. I am Zecora, and I behold a mysterious aura. You have much power, with it you could tear down the mightiest tower."

Once Zecora had stepped away, the small, yellow Earth pony. "Howdy! Ah'm Applebloom, Applejack and Big Macintosh's sister and one of the founding members of the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" (for some reason that title gave Jace a sense of unease)

Once Applebloom moved over to AJ, the big red stallion came forward. "Howdy, Ah'm Big Macintosh, AJ and Applebloom's older brother. But everypony jus' calls me Big Mac."

Big Mac stepped back just in time for the small white Unicorn to push past him. "Hi! I'm Sweetie Belle. I'm Rarity's little sister and one of the founding members of the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" (there was that sense of unease again)

Sweetie Belle walked over to Rarity just as the small orange Pegasus zoomed up. "Hi! i'm Scootaloo, president of the Rainbow Dash fan club, honorary little sister to Rainbow Dash, and final founding member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" (once again with the unease)

Next, the purple dragon walked over. "Hey. My name's Spike. I'm Twilight's number one assistant and honorary little brother. Yes I am a dragon."

Finally, a little, black alicorn filly shuffled over. "H-hi. I'm Nyx. I'm Twilight's daughter and a member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders." (why does that strike fear into Jace's heart?)

Jace shook each of their hands in order, smiling the whole time. "Greetings all. My Name is Jace Veritas, leader of the Diablo super soldiers. It's very nice to meet you all."

Everypony spent the rest of the day in Jace's room, which was huge. They chatted about what had happened the day before and about their many interests. Then the young fillies asked Jace to tell them a story and the room went so silent you could hear a pen being dropped down the hall. Jace looked around to find everyones eyes on him as the group sat down in chairs, on the floor and even on pillows. Smiling, Jace sat up and began telling them all the exciting, fun, and amazing stories he had from his past. He didn't go into extreme detail about the many things he had to defeat, but he was still able to make them all gasp, daww, laugh, and cheer with the stories. Thus, another day and night passed in the land of Equestria.

Author's Note

Finally! The CrimsonEyedPrince has come back to writing! Sorry for the extended wait but I have been so busy working (having 3 jobs takes up a lot of time) and helping out with some community renovation projects, that I haven't really had time to write. any free time I have had was used to catch up on story updates and holiday shopping/decorating. ((further details will be shared in a separate ranting blog post)) Anyways, here's the new chapter! enjoy!!

Nyx Belongs to: Pen Stroke

As a side note: There will not be a lot of Zecora speaking parts in this story. I find it hard to write for her.

Also, for those that haven't figured it out yet; This takes place after and alternate season 2 ending where the wedding goes off without the invasion and they encounter the changelings on a trip through the badlands. The events of seasons 3 and 4 will not hapen.