No one is infallible. Not me, not Luna, not Celestia. Especially not the three of us actually, but the lesson here is that no matter who you are you will have flaws. However, flaws helps define who you are. For example my greatest flaw would probably be my glaring pride that keeps getting in the way. But even that’s makes me the person I am, life would be awfully boring if everyone was a Gary Stu married to Mary Sue. In fact such a world would be downright terrifying.

I had been wielding a weapon with the soul of a dead draconequus all this time? How? No why had I been the one to find it? My thoughts kept spiraling without any semblance of control.

“Are you okay Cloud?” Luna asked, partly breaking me out of my stunned state of being.

“Yes… I mean I think I am. It’s just quite a lot to take in, and even more to accept so suddenly.” I answered slowly.

“That is understandable Cloud, but I’m afraid that I have more questions to ask. To begin with where did you find this?” Luna pressed on with her questions.

“It was just after I died, I woke up again i-” I began before stopping, I had spoken without thinking.

“Did I say died I meant eh, I meant…” I began, trying to find the best possible way to talk myself out of this situation.

Panic rushed through me and my mind began trying to make up excuses for what I had said but it was already too late, Luna had heard me perfectly.

“Cloud!” Luna’s full strength Canterlot voice blasted through my house, effectively snapping me out of my rising panic.

My eyes locked onto the lunar alicorn while my breathing slowly went back to normal, and as I felt the panic I had before leave me I sat down heavily in one of the living room chairs. All I had left was a strange deflated feeling as I turned my eyes away from Luna, instead focusing on the ground in front of me.

“There’s no use hiding in trying to hide it anymore, is there?” I asked, my gaze still locked onto the floorboards.

“Cloud.” Luna began in a softer tone. “That is not a secret one carries and expects to retain ones sanity for long. In fact it’s quite astonishing that you’ve been able to sleep at all.”

“It’s not like I sleep soundly when I do!” I bit back as my temper changed. “Sorry, sorry I… I didn’t mean to snap at you.” I apologized almost instantly, the irritation fading again.

“Apology accepted. Although tell me Cloud, why are you trying to solve everything on your own? This is just like what happened last time you were here, trying to shoulder it all on your own. Have you learnt about asking for help from us ponies?” Luna questioned me.

Still refusing to look at her I released a heavy sigh before speaking again. “I guess that’s just who I am Luna. There are many times when I just want to drop it all and there are more times when I do. However my pride has a tendency to get in the way, and I may have a slight problem when it comes to asking for help. I just don’t want to be a bother most of the time.”

“Cloud.” Luna said again, almost sounding sad. “Your friends here care about you, they would listen to your problems. It also doesn’t help that you’re almost as good as my sister at hiding behind a façade that you show the world instead of your true face.”

“Yeah because that would be a wonderful way to open a conversation. ‘Oh hi, what? No I’m doing good. By the way did I mention that I think I’m actually dead?’” I bit back again, the sarcasm thick in my voice.

Luna however seemed to just ignore my sarcasm and continued. “I’m sure that they would listen and help you without question Cloud.” She said, causing me to lift my head and look at her a scathing retort ready. But before I had time to say anything she continued. “For now though I will listen to you, however there’s another that should be present for these talks.”

“No, not her. Luna I can’t-” I began, realizing just who she meant but got cut off by Luna.

“No! After all this time and what you did she still loves you, even if she won’t admit it openly when asked. But I can tell that her heart still yearns for the thing you two had, you owe her at least this explanation. It will do both of you good.” She reprimanded me sharply.

I drew breath to retort only to come up with nothing so instead I ended up releasing it as a sigh instead. Ultimately I just nodding in agreement.

“Then it is decided, I will return momentarily with my sister.” Luna declared and teleported away.

Meanwhile I was left to sit with my own treacherous thoughts, as they came crawling back with Luna’s absence. First I contemplated fleeing, but that would do me no good. Then I contemplated hiding, but in the end that seemed even more childish than running. In the end I found myself sitting there unable to act due to the combined feeling of confusion, and fear for potentially lashing out against Celestia. As my thoughts gradually turned darker I let out a frustrated scream at my own inability to maintain my psyche. I hastily stood up, still fuming at myself, and walked over to the nearest wall. After rearing my head back I slammed my forehead into the wood paneling, producing a dull thud from the impact and a pained grunt from me. But as I stood there, with my now aching forehead, I felt my thoughts clear up. What good will it do if I freak out? These past few days have been a damn parody of how I should act. I berated myself as I started to pace back and forth. For I feared that if I sat down again my thoughts would return.

No more than fifteen minutes could have passed before Luna reappeared in with a flash, this time accompanied with Celestia. Luna’s eyes scanned the living room until her gaze landed on me, where I had stopped my pacing. Her sister on the other hand seemed to be wondering just where Luna had teleported her. If I had to guess Luna had just told her that she would be going to talk to me, not where they were going. Finally, Celestia’s gaze ended up finding me as well and she was the first out of the three of us to speak.

“Hello again Cloud, my sister says that we have to talk and it sounded serious.” She greeted me, a wondering tone in her voice.

“Hi Tia.” I greeted her, surprising myself at how tired my voice sounded. ”Sit down, please. This is going to take… Once I start talking I’m not going to stop if I do I don’t think I’ll be able to start again. So please sit down and I will tell you all that happened since that night so long ago.” I said, feeling something between being terrified and relieved.

“I will take my leave then.” Luna announced, moving towards my door.

“No you will stay.” I stopped her. “You have a right to know what happened as well.” I told her, making her head towards the couch instead.

I wanted to get it all of my chest, to just surrender to it all, to make it all a thing in the past. But how I lost control and how it pained me when I talked about scared me to no end. So when Celestia got seated in my couch, a now worried expression on her face, I took a deep breath.

“That night that I disappeared I went to face Grief and Dreamcatcher alone…” I began my story. And once I started it was like a faucet had opened for the words were pouring out of me like flowing water. I told them about how I had theorized a plan to beat grief given the information I had gotten from Luna. I told them of how the final moments in Equestria had played out for me, something that I had dumbed down for the girls when I talked to them. I spoke of how I had been balancing on the edge of staying in Equestria and leaving but had come to the conclusion that I was expendable and Celestia was not. I spoke of my first few months back home and how I had cut connections and had done everything to try and forget.

When I arrived at the point where I had collapsed during my martial arts practice I had to force myself to continue, but continue I did. I tried my best to detach myself from what I was saying, as I described how I had wasted away in that hospital bed before ultimately succumbing to my irreparable lungs. At this point both sisters had almost same expressions, with clenched yaws and hard to read facial expressions. And so I continued to speak, I spoke of waking up again and finding Imagination. I told them about my beliefs at the time, that I truly thought I was dead. Then I told them of ending up in the care of the Rustfeathers and how I had realized where I was. I described my reasoning for staying and how I had started to build a life again, despite being weary of having to start over.

Then I got to the final events that had led me here. “…so you see I’m still terrified. Terrified that I’m still on that hospital bed, and all of this is just a sort of bastion for my dying mind. A final happy thought before I truly die once and for all.” I finished, having finally revealed my deepest fear. My throat and mouth were now dry and my voice was barely louder than a whisper.

He had truly loved her! Her heart sang, and after all this time he hopefully still cared for her. When he explained everything that had been going on behind the scenes those last days so much became clear. But then as he went on to describe what had happened to him after he had returned home her exuberance slowly turned to guilt. What he had gone through almost exactly mirrored what she had done after he had disappeared. When he reached the point where he had been told that his time was running out she had wanted to leap up and embrace, to tell him that everything was okay now. But he had asked them not to interrupt so clenched her jaw and endured. She endured until his story started wrap up and by this point Cloud had since long ago turned his gaze away from Luna and her.

As the last whispered syllables left Cloud’s lips she had already decided what to do. He had suffered just as she had, and it was time that she repaid him for all the kindness he had shown her when she thought herself lost. It was her time to be a rock to lean against, like he had been for her when she had ended up in his home more than two years ago. It was time that she told him the secret she had been holding onto ever since that stormy Canterlot night when she thought she had lost him the first time. If anything it will be to calm his soul. She thought as she approached the silent form of Cloud.

She carefully extended one of her wings to gently brush aside his uneven hair so that she could meet his gaze properly. His eyes were bordering on emotionless, but they still sought hers and a small flicker of activity could still be seen if one searched for it. She gave him the most comforting smile she could manage, but she was afraid that her own eyes betrayed the sadness she felt for him.

“It’s okay Cloud, I’m here. You don’t have to fight anymore. I know that you’re alive, that you’re real and that you’re you standing here in front of me because you share my soul.”

Cloud’s lips twitched slightly and he managed a weak smile. “I’m sorry Tia but I don’t know what to trust anymore.” He told her.

“No you don’t understand Cloud and that is my fault. I should have told you this the first time you asked me but I was afraid. Afraid of what you might think of me, afraid of me influencing your free will, but no more. Had I only been honest and steadfast that one time, I could’ve saved us both so much sorrow.” She told him, and he adopted a quizzical look.

“It is time I told you what happened that night you collapsed after saving Spike’s life…”

Finally! She cheered as the barrier around her quarters started to dissipate. She burst out of her apartments through her balcony door, heading straight towards the location Rage had been just minutes prior. She had seen it all from her window as she worked furiously to break free from her confinement. But now she needed answers to the questions she had. Like, who was responsible for that massive bolt of lightning? Or if all the elements were alright? Her instincts told her that if she headed for the last place Rage had been she would get the answers she now sought.

She pumped her wings furiously and like an arrow she shot through the grey skies, barely aware of the drizzle that remained of the earlier rainfall. Then she saw it, the area where the massive lightning bolt had struck. No, before seeing it she could feel it as she rapidly closed in on it. She could feel how the area was somehow devoid of magic and it wasn’t until her eyes saw it that she finally understood. Somepony had been able to create a large magical nullification zone, possibly by using that large bolt of lightning. The next thing she saw was the element bearers that stood crowded around something hidden from her view form the air. So she entered rapid dive, only to come to a hasty landing that caused her to skid across the wet stones of Canterlot’s streets.

“Princess Celestia!” Her student’s voice cried out, most likely in surprise over her sudden appearance.

She turned around to face her little ponies and to congratulate them for their victory, but that was as far as her thoughts got. The moment she turned her eyes fell upon the bruised, broken and above everything else unmoving form of Cloud. Everything else in the world fell away at that moment as her mind tried to desperately deny what was in front of her. No… She thought. Nonono! This isn’t real, he can’t be here. He was supposed to be safe!

To her side she heard Twilight try explain what had happened, but she couldn’t make out the words. In a desperate attempt she tried her magic but the null zone made even basic levitation impossible. Instead of wasting any more time on attempting to use magic she quickly moved over to the Cloud’s side. To her side Twilight’s tone had changed to a worried one since Celestia had yet to respond to her, but right now all she could care about was Cloud. She bent down and by using her wings and fore hooves she carefully scooped his lifeless form up and onto her back. His cold form filled her with dread as she broke into a sprint, leaving the confused element bearers behind her. Every second counted if she wanted to have a chance to save his life. And the moment she cleared the magical dead zone she came to an abrupt stop, using her magic to levitate Cloud off her back. A series of quick magic scans filled her only with despair though as they revealed Cloud to have passed on.

No! I refuse to let this happen! She thought angrily as she prepared a spell she had thought she would never use. A spell theorized by Clover the clever, a forbidden spell but not necessarily a dark one. That being said it was definitely a dangerous one, although right now it was the only option she could think of. Invoking the ancient spell matrix she felt her power drain rapidly as a part of her soul broke lose. Her power drained further as she felt the shard of her soul vanish into the aether in search of its intended target. Now came the part that had made the spell a mere theory for Clover the clever, maintaining a constant stream of magic into the spell matrix until the soul shard returned. A normal unicorn mage simply didn’t have the magical resources for a spell like this, but an alicorn on the other hoof was a different matter. She grit her teeth and focused, and slowly the passing seconds turned into minutes.

Then she felt it, a strange indescribable feeling but if she had to put it into words she would call it a distorted echo. The small shard of her soul returned, suddenly materializing in the air front of her, but this time it wasn’t alone. Accompanying her small vibrant soul shard was a larger electric blue soul that had been led home through the void. She didn’t waste any time, so instead of admiring the alien display of her soul shard orbiting Cloud’s reclaimed soul like a miniature sun she directed the soul and shard towards the form in front of her. The shard and soul seemed to merge seamlessly with Cloud’s body and in the next second his body lit back up with the flame of life. Releasing a shaky breath she allowed herself to release the feed of magic into the matrix, as she could see Cloud’s wounds slowly mend themselves.

I did it… She thought sluggishly as the stress of the magical exhaustion started to hit her. His soul was safe and his life had been restored, now she just needed to pray that he woke up soon. Then another thought struck her. Wait… What if he sees this as a debt? What if he takes this the wrong way? I mean right now his life is tied to mine and in turn mine is tied to the sun. She came to realize slowly. Cloud was going to share her time and he had not even had a say in the matter. How would he cope with the news that he would share her lifespan? The lifespan of a sun?

She looked up, her tear filled eyes seeking Cloud’s. “So you see I know it’s truly you. For I can feel the resonance of our souls.” She told him softly as she gently placed a hoof on his chest.

For a few seconds Cloud stood there just looking at her, an unreadable expression on his face. It came to the point where she started to fear that he would reject her and ask her to leave him alone. Then suddenly he enveloped her in a hug, using both his arms and wings.

“Thank you Tia, thank you.” He whispered softly as the warmth of his embrace soothed her own troubled soul.

“No thank you for returning to me.” She whispered back as she returned the hug.

She didn’t know how long she and Cloud spent there, arms, legs and wings intertwined, but when they finally released each other she was certain that things would work themselves out. If it would take time so be it, she wasn’t going to let Cloud go again without a fight. Time was after all a thing they both would have in abundance. She studied Cloud’s face as he studied her, he looked much calmer than before but that was to be expected given the burden he had carried.

“The two of us are hopeless at dealing with our problems, aren’t we?” He asked her, giving her a hesitant smile. But it was the first real smile since she had arrived.

“We are, we most definitely are.” She agreed, returning his smile.

“I have to ask though, where does this leave us Tia?” Cloud questioned her, sounding a bit reserved.

“As far as I am concerned I’m not ready to give up on us, Cloud.” She told him warmly, causing him gently to wrap his wings around her again.

She had spent enough time away from him to bother with the details now, and if there were any troubles on the road ahead they could deal with them as they presented themselves. But for now her future looked as bright as the sun she governed over. Yes, things would only become better from this point. She thought as she leaned into his embrace, just enjoying the closeness and the feeling of him gently running his fingers through her mane as he held her in his wings.

Author's Notes:

And there we go, that concludes the "Cloud has returned" part of the story. What will follow is the start of another part of this tale and I hope that you will enjoy where I intend to lead this story.

Next chapter will have the working title, To those you owe your time.