Chapter 38

Applebloom groaned as she awoke, the soft sound of her bedroom door closing made her look up and around at the room. Her room had just recently been tidied so it was in a better state than usual, but the homework piled on the desk and the checklists for the Cutie Mark Crusaders were pinned to the walls

The earth pony rubbed her eyes as she looked to where her special somepony should have been sleeping. She heard her front door creak open before closing gently, causing Applebloom to rush to her window and peek out

Nox stepped into view before he looked around with a determined face, his eyes scanned the trees before he began to walk in a random direction. Applebloom quietly left her bedroom and her house as she pursued the alicorn

“Nox wait!” Applebloom called as soon as she was sure nopony else could hear her. Nox spun around before a concerned look shot across his face

“Applebloom, why are you out here?” The colt stepped forwards as Applebloom looked up at the full moon

The filly rubbed her tired eyes as she looked back at Nox. “I woke up and saw ya leaving”

Nox nervously looked down at his hooves, “I don’t sleep much and I heard that my dad landed somewhere here when he first came to Equestria”

“Oh I know what ya mean” Applebloom smiled as she began to lead Nox past the apple trees. “We can go back in the morning if ya want”

“I would like to go now… if that ok” He smiled as Applebloom smiled happily and began to walk alongside him. Nox noticed Applebloom shiver in the cold air, forcing herself to look fine until she sneezed

Nox wrapped one of his wings around Applebloom as they walked, his body sharing heat with her. The earth pony hummed happily as they walked along together, stopping as they reached a small hill that was clear of trees

Applebloom looked around until she pointed at the stump of a tree that had been knocked down months ago. “This is the tree your dad hit when he fell from the sky,” Applebloom walked closer as Nox gazed at the tree

“So this is where my dad first arrived,” Nox whispered in a surprised tone. “I thought he would have left something more noticeable”

Applebloom gasped as a loud howl filled the air, “W-we had better go back now, I forgot that it was a full moon”

“What happens on full moons?” Nox asked curiously as Applebloom began to panic and tug at his neck. “What’s wrong?”

“On full moons the timber wolves sometimes come into the farm to collect apple tree bark for their bodies.” Applebloom began to hop on the spot, “We need to go”

Nox gulped as he hurried after Applebloom and began to run for the safety of the farmhouse. However, as they were still running through the trees, the sound of a twig snapping made them freeze. A pair of dark, amber eyes floated out of the shadows as the timber wolf’s wooden body revealed itself

A wave of putrid breath struck the nostrils of the children as they began to run away, screaming as the wolf gave chase. Applebloom galloped as fast as she could, Nox staying close beside her as they heard the wolf hunting them down

“I’m sorry Nox!” Applebloom cried as tears began to form in her eyes, “I should have remembered about the wolves”

“No, I wanted to go out at night, it’s my fault!” Nox replied, his eyes looked down before a glare crossed his face. “But I won’t let you get harmed because of me!”

Nox stopped, turning to face the timber wolf. The colt pushed all his fears aside as he glared at the approaching wolf. The predator began to charge towards the easy prey, his eyes narrowed on his target. Applebloom stopped and turned, gasping as the wolf lunged at Nox

“GO AWAY!” Nox yelled as his horn glowed, a beam of light streamed out of his horn and stopped a few feet in the air. The air tore open as a swirling black hole began to suck everything towards it, the wolf being the first to be pulled into the abyss

Fallen leaves swirled around the edge of the destructive hole before falling into the endless pit. The trees began to lean towards the hole as it continued to suck everything in and devour it. Its hunger was not satisfied as loose apples soon succumbed to the depths of nothingness

Nox let out a loud gasp as his horn returned to normal and the black hole disappeared, leaving a small hole in the ground where the dirt had been pulled up. The young prince staggered as he sat down and held his head, Applebloom quickly rushed to his side

“Y-you saved me,” the earth pony smiled as Nox managed to recover and look at her

The grey colt smiled, “Of course!” he exclaimed, his hooves keeping himself steady as Applebloom grasped him in a tight hug

Applebloom released Nox before giving him a quick kiss that caused him to instantly blush. “You are my hero Nox!” Applebloom smiled as she hugged Nox and was wrapped in his hooves

“I wouldn’t dream of being anything less than good enough for you,” Nox whispered as he placed his head on top of Applebloom’s soft mane. “And I will never let anything hurt you”

Meanwhile…

Celestia let out a brief snore as she rolled onto her back, her mane was ruined again from all the sweat that caused it to form into mats and knots. Dave’s eye popped open as the princess’ noise made him shoot out of his slumber

The human rubbed the red patch on his neck where Celestia decided to bite during their passionate moments together. Dave did not mind the pain, he shrugged it off, as it no longer served as a warning for danger to his life. Odio’s gift in making him immortal and still managing to keep his other skills was still amazing in his eyes

Dave sat up in the bed and ran his fingers through his hair, grumbling as he wiped the alicorn’s saliva from his ear lobe. He stretched his neck as he looked around the dark room, the candles had died or the gust of wind Celestia caused at one point had blown them out

Dave shuddered from a sudden chill he got down his spine, causing him to frown as the room was warm enough that he was happy sleeping without a lot of the bed covers. His eyes instinctively moved to the window where he saw Flux’s face staring at him

As Dave blinked, the head disappeared with no trace that it was even there. Dave shook his head as he rubbed his eyes, “I’m going crazy,” he sighed as the call of nature made him go to the bathroom

Once he had finished using the toilet, Dave washed his hands in the pure white sink, his eyes wandered to the golden hairbrush beside the basin. The bristles looked clean even though Celestia brushed her mane very thoroughly each morning. The handle of the brush ended up in a sharp point that captured Dave’s attention

He picked up the brush a he normally would and twirled it around his finger so he held the sharp point facing towards his other hand. With a deep breath, Dave plunged the point into his hand and winced as the drops of blood inevitably ran down his hand and dripped into the sink, getting swept up in the rushing water from the elegant taps

Dave washed the brush and replaced it as he looked at the neat gash in his hand. His eyes studied the wound as it slowly pulled itself together and left no evidence it ever existed. Dave shook his head as he looked at himself in the mirror

His hair was messy from all the recent activities and his body was still covered in a tiny layer of sweat. His body looked slightly more toned than when he first came to Equestria, his small areas of fat disappeared, probably due to his lack of eating. But the thing that caught his attention most was his eyes, they were once a sapphire blue that was one of his more noticeable features but now they had withered into a duller, darker blue that seemed less noticeable than before

“I guess a lot has changed since Earth,” Dave groaned before rubbing his eyes. “Why do I still talk like I can pop back whenever I want?” he mumbled as he walked back into the bedroom and sat down, facing away from the other occupant of the bed

Celestia opened her eyes and saw Dave with his head hung low and his fingers grasping the back of his head. The white alicorn sat up and draped her hooves over Dave’s shoulders and held her body against his back, feeling the cold skin against her warm fur

“I would have thought you would be worn out from our reunion,” Celestia smiled as she kissed Dave’s neck. She rested her head next to Dave’s as he sat up straight again

Dave looked at his naked body as he took in the warmth from Celestia’s body. “I was gone for two days, for no good reason and I return to receive free sex,” Dave stared at the floor as he felt Celestia shuffle uncomfortably, “why didn’t you scold me or get angry?”

“I love you and I know you always try your hardest to make everyone happy,” Celestia’s smile faded as Dave’s head drooped again. “What’s wrong?”

“When I lived on Earth I used to fantasize about silly things like adventure and romance,” Dave closed his eyes as he felt Celestia hold him tighter. “I used to wonder how I could do everything within the short life I had, deciding if I should look for the right love early or experience all of the world’s different places”

Celestia sat in silence as Dave took a moment to rub his eyes and look out the window. The princess of the sun rested her ear against Dave’s back, listening to his slow and pounding heartbeat

“But coming here I got all of that within a few weeks,” Dave clenched his fist and relaxed it as he placed his hand on Celestia’s hoof. “But now I have a son, get into trouble almost every day and have the very image of perfection as my true love… but I am petrified”

“Why?” Celestia lifted her head as she saw Dave break down and tears began to flow from his eyes as if all his emotion suddenly escaped in one final push. Celestia released Dave as she hurried to sit next to him and wrap her hooves around him as he grasped her in a weak embrace

“I-I am scared that I might lose you,” Dave whimpered, his happy attitude completely gone as he sobbed. “I can’t handle this anymore, the fact everyday might bring something that would tear us apart”

Celestia searched for the right words to say that might reassure Dave, ease his burden and let him know everything was going to be perfect. But as the words failed to find her, Celestia’s eyes eventually began to water as well. Dave’s eyes opened for a brief moment, snatching glances of Battering Ram standing in the mirror, his empty and remorseless eyes staring at him

“I’m scared too,” Celestia sighed, her voice wavering as she held Dave for her own reassurance more than Dave’s. “I am scared that someone will try to pull us apart, but I know that they won’t succeed”

Dave stopped sniffling long enough to pull his head back and look at Celestia’s face. The princess’ eyes were full of happiness but the tears that ran down made her eyes sparkle as the moonlight reflected from them. Her smile was so sincere and determined to stay showing that she allowed herself to sob even as she had it on her face

Dave placed his hand on Celestia’s cheek as he wiped away her tears. “But how can you be sure? How can you know that something won’t be stronger than us?”

“Because you beat death to make sure you saw your son be born,” Celestia rubbed her face against Dave’s hand as he looked down in guilt, knowing he made the love of his life cry for no reason. “But I know that we will be together forever, until the end of time”

Dave sighed as he looked up again. “But what if…” he was cut off as Celestia pressed her hoof against his lips

“If something happened that forced the two of us apart,” Celestia closed her eyes as she rested her horn against Dave’s head. “I know you would tear the fabric of existence apart to be with me again”

“Celestia I…” Dave allowed his eyes to fall shut as Celestia pressed her lips against his. Her mouth rested against his, their tongues stayed behind their own teeth as the kiss was full of love rather than consumed with lust

Celestia gently pulled away, still sharing her breaths with Dave. “I am just happy to know that you have more feelings behind that cheerful and determined man that you normally show”

“And I am happy to know that the mare I love can be so faithful and trusting,” Dave opened his eyes as Celestia pulled her head back and her horn began to glow. “What are you doing?”

“I have been learning a spell that will allow me to be a human for a short while,” Celestia frowned as she concentrated. She gasped as Dave placed a hand on her chin and another on her horn, preventing her from casting her spell

“You shouldn't mess with perfection,” Dave smiled as Celestia’ shocked expression returned to her tear-filled grin. “We are who we are, and we love each other because of it”