A kiss, a hoof down my cheek, and AJ disappeared with the others in the meeting room, apart from Fluttershy, Rarity, and Cadance. When she learned what had happened to my mother, she had not left me for a minute that night and had tried to comfort me. However, Twilight had convened a meeting now and explicitly demanded that I should not be there, and Armor made sure she got her wish. After what happened in the stadium yesterday, Twilight was still mad at me, probably because I dodged her promise. I could not promise that I would never use magic again to harm someone. I did not know what lay ahead of us, so it was a promise that I did not know I could keep. Besides, I wasn’t sure about how I felt about the entire thing. I knew that it was wrong what I did, yes. Any guilt that I felt was drastically less.

Apart from what was going on just behind the closed door in front of me, I started thinking about my brother who had been treated below deck. Despite his poor state, Luna had teleported him into a large enough room that he could fit into. This was far less dangerous than to transform him, because his body was in no shape to do the transformation successfully, and the wounds would carry over. Since neither of the two had ever treated a human, they asked Rarity to set his stump properly. I still couldn’t believe that he had severed his own arm to get free from the chains.

I sighed and leaned over the railing, looking down on the snow-covered landscape below. The snow did not reflect the sun as would be the norm, as this was still obscured by the dark moon that cast a shadow on the world. The usually white clouds also looked as if a dark veil was placed over them, and the falling snow seemed just as dirty. With the latest triumph by Nightmare, we had come to the end of our rope. The ultimate goal of our trip was met: we had found all of my remaining family members, and now would have been the time to gather the survivors and build the shields. However, the radiation negated that plan, and soon the planet would be destroyed, or at least the flora and fauna and humans with them. With the way home blocked and the moon a constant threat over our heads, it was truly exasperating. The only thing we knew was that Nightmare was on some island up north and that was it. Actually, I had anticipated that it would amount to a confrontation, but I had not given it much thought, as it had seemed so far away. And now? We were left with no choice but to confront Nightmare in order to get home. The only thing I felt towards that being was anger and hate, but I also knew how strong it was. Even Luna had problems with fighting it, and the Elements were not here. I was stumped.

"Light, darling? Are not you cold?" I still leaned with my front hooves on the railing as I looked around to Rarity. Around her neck, a wrapped scarf blew in the gentle gust which moved across the deck. It showed me how cold it had actually become, because even the deck was covered with a thin white layer.

"Maybe a little bit..." Rarity pulled another shawl virtually out of nowhere and made the white cloth wrap around my neck.

"Better, right?" I nodded. "While I would prefer some tea to talk in the warmth downstairs, that is simply not an option. Don’t you want to tell me what’s bothering you?" Rarity turned to me and followed my gaze down to where we had just crossed a forest.

"Nothing against you, Rarity, but I do not think..." Up until now, actually, she had had good ideas to put forward, and these problems concerned her as much as anyone else.

"You do not think what, darling?" She smiled at me from the side. I briefly thought about where to start and opted for the latest issue.

"Nothing, Rarity. On the one hand, there's this thing with Twilight. She’s been so distant since what happened at the stadium. I can understand that she does not like to see magic used like that, and I also know that it was wrong, but..." I stopped when I saw her shake her head.

"You certainly have a point, but unfortunately that's not the reason. We all can not approve of what you've done, but we also understand how you must have felt. To see your mother like that with your own eyes... I do not think I would have been able to control myself in those circumstances." She again gave me a smile and put a hoof on my shoulder. "Anyway, the princess gave you a part of her power and surely expected you to use it accordingly. It may not really be my place, but I think you know that Princess Celestia would not approve of your actions." I just nodded and let it go. "Anyway, that's just part of the problem with Twilight. She probably cannot bear it that someone she mentored disappointed her, especially like this. You are Twilight’s student, remember?" I slowly realized what Rarity was getting at. Twilight felt responsible that I could even do something like that. She thought she had put her trust wrongly by teaching me, and she believed that Celestia would feel the same way. As her student, Twilight probably thought it was her job to be mad for both of them.

"I will take the responsibility for it before Celestia, not Twilight." I knew that, as this was an official mission, I would have to give a report and justify my actions to the princess.

"As I said, that is only one part. She is disappointed, Light." That had been clear to me, as was the reason. I had misappropriated her beloved magic. Rarity probably saw the confusion on my face and looked more serious. "What I'm telling you now is between us. You have to promise me."

"I promise, and thank you for trying to help me." Like I said, although AJ was up all night by my side, we had not talked a lot. At the time, I didn’t need any words, just my marefriend to hold me in her hooves.

“That’s how I am, after all." She waved a hoof. "But let's move on. Where were we?" She tapped her chin briefly. "Right, Twilight. What do you think she sees in you?"

"A friend and pupil?" At least I saw a good friend and teacher in Twilight, and I assumed that she did the same.

"Please, think of the circumstances that you got to know Twilight the first time. Can you imagine what it must have felt like?" I thought of the day in the woods when her face had suddenly appeared in front of me and what had followed the next few days. All this seemed so long ago. "I had only heard it from her later on, but she was alone in the forest for a week, Light, in a world stranger than anything she had ever encountered as well. I hope you can therefore imagine how happy she was to see another pony?" I nodded again. "In addition, there was one that saw her plight and was willing to help. You know how helpless she feels when she cannot use magic. Now take all this together, and imagine that you had to be something like a knight in shining armour for her. Why did you think she was so fixated that you would like Equestria? She wanted to show you her gratitude and, although it is just a guess on my part, I think she had even a little crush on you." It was as if someone turned on a light in a dark room. Why hadn't Twilight stopped everything the moment she noticed I wasn't happy? Why was she angry when she discovered, but now was one of the most determined to help me, more so than everyone else?

"Are you sure Rarity? I do not think I’m the guy Twilight would be..." And again I realized how stupid my guess was. Twilight had experience in many fields, but love was certainly not one of them.

"Like I said, it's a guess, but I know Twilight, and I know one thing for sure. Her admiration for you grew. When you collapsed when you found out that there was no way back, the incident with the parasprites, the changelings, and then Nightmare. Each of these events affected you personally, but you went about things logically, a trait she values very much. You were her role model, especially after what happened with her ​​parents." Rarity finished her little speech and turned her gaze back to the world around us. Small black dots could be seen in the village below us. Now that there wasn't any direct sunlight anymore, the shades were running around everywhere. That was the reason the ship was now glowing even though it was day.

"And so I destroyed her hero image? Rarity, I was never one, and I’m still not one. This mission is pure self-interest and the thing with the changelings was for the same reason. The parasprites were also a threat to me. Heroes do things because... what? But not for personal gain." She stifled a laugh by pressing a hoof in front of her mouth.

"Light, you said that we were something like heroes for you, right?" I could do nothing by nod again. "Was it not in our own self-interest to oppose dangers like Nightmare Moon, Discord, or the changeling queen? It is not about being heroic, even if that's a noble idea. No matter why somepony is doing it, somepony has to do it. What you call a hero is a fantasy, but it probably comes close to what Twilight saw in you. You were not strong in terms of physical or even magical strength, per se, but you are emotionally strong and never gave up. That was something that not only Twilight and I, but also all the others admired about you." I would have just loved to take the mare next to me in a big hug. She had wanted to help me with a problem and had done even more for me. I paused because I didn’t think she would appreciate if I ruined her hair. It was still funny how the pony who I thought that we would get the least from was the reason things were clear for me for the second time.

"Thanks, Rarity. Really, thank you. You have no idea what you took off my shoulders.” She only hummed in confirmation and kept her nose to the wind.

"Think nothing of it, okay darling? That’s what friends are for." A particularly strong gust of wind moved across the deck, and I again realized how cold it was. Even though the magic in the ship meant that we did not feel the weather as one would on the ground, it still felt like the temperature had gone past zero. I turned around and noticed that the door to the meeting room was slightly open and some tracks in the fresh snow led towards the stairs.

"I had not realized that they were finished." Rarity nudged me and pointed in the direction of the tracks.

"Maybe we should do like the others. A warm cup of tea really calls to me." I agreed with her, able to tolerate something warm, and together we went to the warm interior of the ship. Hardly had we entered the long corridor that we ran into Fluttershy, a bowl of dirty water and towels on her back and a first aid kit in her mouth. She tried to give us a smile as she crept past us, presumably to dispose of the water in the toilet.

"Blue Light!" I heard Luna from the other end of the ship call me. "We want to talk to you and expect you in our quarters." She stood on the stairs that continued down and nodded when she saw that I noticed her. She went ahead and disappeared.

"I'll see you later, Rarity. I think my aunt wants to talk to me." I had a hunch how it would go.

"When you finish, please come to the common room, okay?" I freed myself from the scarf around my neck and gave it back to her.

"Thank you. I will." So I went away.

"You wanted to speak to me, Princess Luna... and apparently also you, Twilight." When I came into the room, I had not seen her as the room was quite dark. After a few seconds, my eyes had adjusted and I could see them in the dim light.

"That is correct, Blue Light. We stand before you as a ruler of Equestria and want to talk to you as one of our subjects, soldiers, and as our nephew, about your misbehaviour on the last mission." She stood in front of me, head held high and betrayed nothing as Celestia would do. Twilight, on the other hand, glanced at me briefly before she directed her gaze at the floor. "Is it true that you have abused the magic entrusted by our sister to execute defenceless humans?"

"Yes."

"Do you wish to deliver an explanation in this regard?" If I had one.

"There is neither an explanation nor an excuse. What I did was wrong, and I have abused my power. However, I do not regret what I did. In my opinion, these people deserved such a penalty. Although I had done it in a blind rage at that moment... because of my mother, I see no other way even now. They had done something terrible, probably against the law in both worlds, and they were doomed to die, even if they were unaware of it themselves. The only real punishment they could receive was to take away what time they had left." I could not see Twilight’s face properly, but I could well imagine the look she had on her face. In contrast, Luna barely flinched. "In any case, I am not the Legislative, the Judiciary, or the Executive, and did not have the right to do so. Nevertheless, if I was in the same situation, I would most likely act the same way." The only thing I could hear was Luna’s heavy breathing and my heart hammering in my chest. Even though I appeared collected on the outside, I feared what consequences awaited me.

"We appreciate your honesty, but you need to be corrected on a few points. As ambassadors of this world to Equestria, you asked us for help and were thus made a part of these forces at our discretion. You confronted the enemy, asked that they adjust their actions several times, and your desire was answered with violence. Therefore, you were in the right to defend yourself." Luna lifted a hoof as Twilight seemed to want to interrupt. "Nevertheless! We know your skills and know that you are capable of rendering your opponents incapacitated without the need to strike a mortal blow. In addition, you have the magic that my sister has entrusted to you to fight against a declared enemy of Equestria. Two crimes, but you were understandably not in control of your emotions. Therefore, we will refrain from a direct punishment, but we must ask you to step down from your post as ambassador as soon as we get back. Do you understand?" I bowed.

"Yes, Princess."

"Well then, please go now to your brother. We will explain later how we will proceed. Now, we all need some time off." Thus the door opened behind me, and Twilight and I stepped out into the hallway.

"Light, I did not want you... It was just..." I shook my head.

"It's okay, Twilight. I had a long talk with Rarity and feel better to have been punished with the knowledge." We took the stairs and came to the entrance of the common room, which was blocked with a blanket. We eyed this strangely and finally came through.

We practically found another world. The room was decorated with garlands, candy canes, and green twigs and branches of all kinds. A small Christmas tree was loaded with colourful balls, a few candy canes, and pine cones, and snow was in the middle of the room. All around were the two sofas. On one sat Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and AJ. Shining Armor and Cadance were seated on the floor next to the sofa. In a corner of the room, Dawn, Holly, and Scootaloo sat and were busy painting pictures. On the other sat Hawk, Rainbow, Julian, and with a blanket over his shoulders and a too-small cup of cocoa in hand was my brother. He put the cup on the small table next to the sofa and greeted me with his remaining hand.

"Hey," he simply said when he saw me and grinned a little sheepishly.

"Nils!" I ran over to him and leaned on his legs to reach his neck at all. I snuggled against him, and he returned the hug after a moment. "How are you?"

"Um... Cadance, right?" The pink alicorn nodded. "And her friend... Flutters here have me somewhat patched up." The mentioned pony blushed a bit.

"He's still malnourished and needs a lot of liquid, but his wounds have been treated and should heal," added the princess, grinning over at me. I could not help it and hugged him again. In my life I had never shown such affection for him, at least not since he was a baby.

"Hey, calm down, someone could think you will jump my bone any moment," he finally said, pushing me away a bit, and then a chuckle went around the room.

"Did I miss something?" We turned to the entrance in the ceiling that separated the room from the rest of the ship and the outside world. Trixie came in and took a seat in front of the sofa, right next to Hawk.

"Nils, this is Trixie. Rarity and her were the ones who found you in the basement,” I said on the assumption that the rest had already been introduced.

"Thanks, Trixie. For me, it was all just a blur what happened the last few weeks." He held out his hand to which she placed a hoof in it.

"I have a question? What's up with the Hearts and Hooves Day decorations, Pinkie?" asked Twilight, who had watched everything so far in silence. The referenced pony had been even more quiet, but had a huge grin on at the same time.

"Well..." She took a deep breath. "I know that it’s not the time for Hearts and Hooves Day, but I saw that everypony was so dejected and sad about everything that happened, and I could no longer have that happen because it's my job to make sure everypony laugh, and I love just to see my friends laugh! And what’s better than to sit comfortably with all our friends around a tree and celebrate this festival? Nothing! At least I don’t think so, so..." She took another breath. "Let's go party!"

While Trixie, Nils, Hawk, and Julian looked more confused, the others could do nothing but laugh, as Pinkie was being Pinkie.

"But where did you get all the decorations? I saw nothing like this when the ship was loaded?" asked Trixie, trying to get over her surprise.

"She’s hidden decorations for a party in case of an emergency everywhere on the ship," I answered for her.

"Wowww, you're good," said Pinkie, and stuffed a candy cane in my mouth. "So let’s sing and have fun, because as long as we are among friends, everything is always good!" She rushed off the sofa and pulled a gramophone out behind the other one and placed it next to Nils’ cocoa on the small table and gave it one small pat. The needle slid on the already resting record, and familiar tune rang out:

"The fire of friendship lives in our hearts..." Pinkie began singing, and we all jumped in soon after. Fluttershy started another, and Pinkie passed around more cocoa for everyone. Some time after, Luna joined us. Today, just today, we could forget our worries for the moment and enjoy the presence of our friends. For the moment, I could spend time with my brother and my marefriend.

Author's Notes:

Translated and edited by JBL